The Edge of Glory
by Syd and Z
Summary: With the destruction of SPD, and her friends dead, a former pink ranger has to rebuild her life while a new threat looms… But not everything is as it appears to be...
1. Chapter 1

Oliver Torres smoothed down the front of his red collared shirt as he proudly walked down the main corridor of the Irondale Military Academy—or IMA as it was also called. He had received word that the on-site superior, Major Garrett, had requested a private meeting with him. Oliver couldn't help feel a bit of an ego boost at the fact that the Major wanted to meet with him. Whatever the reason for the meeting was, Oliver could only imagine it was something very important. He moved down the halls, nodding at some of the younger members of the academy. After some time, he reached the large metal sliding door that led to Major Garrett's office. Oliver paused a moment and took a deep breath before pressing the call button on the panel beside the door.

"May I help you?" Came the voice of Major Garrett's computerized assistant system.

"I'm Cadet Torres, uh..Major Garrett's expecting me," Oliver replied.

"One moment please," the voice replied before going silence, no doubt contacting the Major to confirm this visitor. Instead of returning a moment later with a response, the doors pulled open with a light hiss, granting Oliver access to the office. "You may enter," the voice unnecessarily said after a moment.

"Thanks," Oliver replied as he stepped through the door. There were a few people mulling around the main portion of the office. Some seemed to be holding folders, while two others were standing near the massive computer system in the room. Oliver stood by for a moment as the door hissed shut behind him, unsure what to say or do.

"Torres," a voice called, catching Oliver's attention. He looked towards the wall to his left and saw Major Garrett standing outside his private office. Oliver gave a small nod and approached his superior. Once he was standing right in front of the Major, he stopped and stood up straight, giving a quick salute. Garret returned the salute and nodded. "Come with me," he said as he turned and walked through the open wooden door that led to his workspace. Oliver obediently followed Garrett inside and stood by as the Major closed the door behind them. "Have a seat," he commented.

"Yes sir," Oliver replied as he moved over to the chair that faced the large chrome desk and matching desk chair in the room. Sighing, the slightly older man eased himself onto the corner of the desk and looked at Oliver. "Is everything alright, sir?" Oliver asked, noticing for the first time the troubled look on his superior's face. His face was creased with worry, which made him look older than his 31 years.

Major Garrett sighed and ran a hand through his short dark hair. "No, Torres," he finally said after a moment. "I can honestly say that everything is not alright," he said in a small sad tone. Before Oliver could ask him to clarify, he stood up from his perch on the desk and retrieved a manila file from the furthest corner of his desk. Without a word, he tossed it in front of Oliver, letting the file fly open as it landed on the desk.

The pages slide out of the folder slightly before coming to a stop. Frowning slightly, Oliver glanced down at them, before taking the papers in his hands. There were dozens of reports surrounding the destruction of Space Patrol Delta, or SPD as it was formerly known as; The death of their commander, his wife and their ranger team; and fairly recent reports from different planets in the galaxy surrounding a group of terrorists traveling around, causing chaos and destruction everywhere they went. He flipped through the pages with wide eyes and saw reports of other SPD posts also having been taken out in just the past year.

"Sir?" Oliver asked, looking up at his grim faced superior, his eyes as wide as saucers. "I…..I don't understand….What happened to SPD?" Major Garrett sighed and moved to his desk chair. He sat down and clenched his hands together on the tabletop, staring down at them for a long moment before speaking.

"You've heard the reports of Emperor Grumm and his minions terrorizing New Tech City, correct?" He finally asked.

"Of course sir," Oliver nodded. Around five years ago, an intergalactic terrorist, Emperor Grumm, had begun his quest for world domination in the distant city. Luckily, it happened to be a place with a large SPD base. After the A-Squad had gone missing, the commander activated a B-Squad team of rangers. After some time, reports came out simply that Emperor Grumm had been defeated, but nothing else was ever heard about the rangers.

"Five years ago, the rangers and their commander infiltrated Emperor Grumm's base," Major Garrett spoke. "Everyone knows that there was an explosion which took out the enemy, but..." he paused a moment. "What people don't know is that…the rangers were destroyed in the explosion as well." He added, confirming the reports Oliver had just seen.

"I don't understand," Oliver spoke, this being the first he had ever heard of rangers being killed, let alone any trouble befalling SPD. "Why weren't people told?" Garrett gave a sad sigh.

"It was a decision made by people much higher up than myself," he admitted. "They felt that, as long as the threat of Grumm and his kind was neutralized, there was no need to trouble the world with the news of the rangers' deaths."

"And now?" Oliver asked, wondering why he was privy to this information.

"Now, it seems a larger threat is coming," Garrett replied.

"What are we supposed to do then?" The younger man questioned. "If SPD has been wiped out... There's nobody to protect us." Garrett looked up at Oliver and gave him a small ghost of a smile.

"There is," he replied. He cleared his throat and sat up straight, regaining his air of authority and order. "Torres, I have been given authorization to activate a new ranger team," he announced.

"With…remaining SPD cadets?" Oliver asked, thoroughly confused. Garrett's eyes saddened for a moment before shaking his head.

"There are no remaining SPD cadets, anywhere," he pointed out. "No, the ranger team will be comprised of cadets, here," he said. Oliver's mouth fell open a moment, shocked. Before he could speak or ask another question, Garrett continued speaking. "Torres, records indicated that you took the SPD entrance exam four years ago, am I right?" He asked. The SPD exam was a test given to the military academies, should cadets choose to take it. It was a way for cadets outside of SPD to be given admittance straight through into the middle or upper ranks, depending on their score, as supposed to going straight into SPD from the bottom and slowly making the way up the levels. The difference between the two methods was that cadets who started at the bottom of SPD had the option to join up as young as the age of ten, where the military academies required cadets to be at least 18 years of age.

"Yes sir," Oliver replied.

"Your score was quite high," Garrett continued, "higher than I'd ever seen, actually." Oliver fought off the urge to grin proudly at that. With the news he had just heard, this wasn't the time to be egotistical. "And yet, since then, whenever there had been an opening to SPD, you've never requested a transfer. Why is that?" Oliver was quiet for a moment, deciding to choose his words carefully.

"I….I guess, sir, I just didn't feel I was ready to be SPD material, yet," he quietly said. Garrett peered at him for a long moment before shaking his head.

"No, that's not it," he assessed. "Please, tell me the real reason," he encouraged. Oliver sighed and raked his hand through his hair.

"The real reason….well, I realized that the SPD base was on the other side of the country, and…I didn't want to leave my sisters here….alone, without me," he admitted, his words stumbling out of him. He looked down, feeling ashamed of his answer. He loved his sisters more than anything, but he also knew that choosing to stall your own career because you don't want to leave your family would hardly be an acceptable answer. But it was the truth. After the death of their parents when Oliver was twelve years old, he took it upon himself to take care of his sisters, Elle who was eight at the time, and Willa who was seven. Even when the three were taken to the Irondale orphanage, where they grew up, his first priority was them. And after he aged out of the system and joined the military academy, he'd visit them at the orphanage whenever he could until the day they too aged out and followed in his footsteps by joining the academy.

After a moment, he chanced a look upwards and to his surprise, saw Garrett giving him a small smile. "Thank you, Torres," he commented. "For a while, I was concerned that I'd picked the wrong cadet. Yes, your score was higher than any I'd ever seen, but there is so much more about a person to take into account. Now, I know without a doubt, you are the right person for the job. A good leader always thinks of other's before his own personal gain." Oliver blinked, completely shocked by Garrett's response.

"L…Leader?" He finally choked out.

"Yes, I've taken some time and given it some serious thought as to who is going to lead this new team of rangers, and you've just proved to me that my decision was correct." Oliver stared at him for a long moment, processing his words and trying to make sure he had heard correctly.

"I…w…." He sputtered for a moment, unsure what to say. "You…..want me to be a ranger," he shook his head. "No, not just that, you want me to lead the team?"

"That is what I just said," Major Garrett replied. "And your first duty as leader will be to pick your team," he added. "Assuming you accept this role as leader, and I hope you do, you will report to the records department to receive the dossiers of other cadets who have scored high on the exam. From them, you will select six people to be under your command." The Major paused for a moment as if lost in thought. "Also, since you'd be taking on a larger role within the academy, you will be promoted." Oliver blew out a shaky breath as his head began to swim with all of this news.

"Promoted?" He spoke.

"Well yes, we can't have a mere cadet leading our ranger team, can we?" The Major lightly joked.

"Uh..." Oliver murmured, running his hands over his face. "This is huge." He muttered.

"Yes, I'd imagine it is," Garrett said with an understanding nod. "If you need a day to process all of this, no one would fault you for that. But, I'd be lying if I said this matter needs to be addressed the sooner the better," he said.

"No." Oliver stated after a momentary silence. "I don't need time... I'll do it." Garrett smiled, pleased by Oliver's readiness to dive right in.

"Excellent," he replied. Oliver watched as the Major opened up one of the drawers in his desk and pulled out three items and set them on the desk. The first was a lieutenant's badge, the second, a large metal box with a military seal on it; the third was a smaller flat box. The Major rose from his desk and opened the smaller box. "Please stand," he said. Oliver quickly did as he was told as Garrett turned the open box to face him. It was then that Oliver saw it wasn't just a box, but a handheld palm scanner. Oliver knew it was what was used to make any promotions official in the academy, not to mention announce it to the rest of the base. The Major pushed the box towards Oliver, who in turn held his hand over the machine and gently pressed his palm down. As soon as his hand came in contact with the pad, he felt a mild warmth sweep the length of his palm as his hand was scanned. As the scanning went on, a beep was heard as a computer display activated on the inside lid of the box.

"This is Major David Garrett. I, being of sound mind and body, promote Cadet Oliver Torres to the rank of Lieutenant. It is with confidence and without doubt that I bestow this rank, for I know this officer does, and will continue to, embody the traits needed for this position," Major Garrett spoke, his voice booming with authority. The machine recorded his words as he spoke them. Oliver had heard this speech before, it was the same that had been broadcasted throughout the base two years ago when Garrett had been promoted to Major, after their previous on site superior, Captain Williams, had put in for his retirement. Oliver had a brief moment of self consciousness as he realized now everyone at the base would know of his current promotion. "Oliver Torres, do you take on this position freely?" Major Garrett spoke, continuing the official promotion process. Oliver cleared his throat and took a deep breath, hoping his voice did not waiver as he spoke.

"I do, sir," he replied, his tone more confident then he thought he could muster.

"And do you swear to uphold the duties, honor, and responsibilities, of your position?" Garrett continued.

"I do, sir," Oliver replied. Garrett carefully balanced the box in one hand while the other picked up the badge from his desk.

"Hold out your free hand, please," he said, to which Oliver quickly obliged. "I now promote you to Lieutenant Oliver Torres," Garrett announced as he placed the badge in Oliver's open palm.

"Thank you, sir," Oliver breathed out, as he felt the weight of the silver badge in his hand. Garrett smiled and nodded as Oliver's hand closed around the badge. As soon as Oliver's fingers wrapped around it, he heard another beep as the display, and the transmission it was recording and broadcasting, ended. Garrett lowered the box to his desk and closed it.

"Well done." Garrett commented as he moved back around his desk, giving the newly appointed Lieutenant a small smile. "I would suggest that you head out to start picking your new team."

"Thank you, sir," Oliver nodded as be carefully clipped his badge onto his shirt.

"Good luck." Came the response as he eased himself into the large chair. "Should you have any questions, you know where to find me." Oliver nodded and gave the Major a salute.

"I won't let you down, sir," he promised. Turning slightly, Oliver departed the room. Turning slightly, Oliver departed the room. As soon as he left the room and returned to the main area of the office, the few people milling about looked at him and smiled, a few uttering congratulations and other positive comments. Oliver accepted the commentary and praise, a blush washing over his face at all the praise. He thanked them humbly before making his way out of the room. He felt some people clap him on the back and shoulders as he passed them. He smiled and nodded before leaving the room. The door had hissed shut after his departure and he barely took a small handful of steps away before he felt two bodies run and jump onto him. "Umph!" He exclaimed as he stumbled slightly.

"Congratulations!" He heard his two sisters say in unison by his ears as they hugged him.

"Thanks." He chuckled as they both kissed his cheeks in unison. They slipped off of his back and came around to stand in front of him to give him a proper hug. Oliver smiled and hugged them back.

"This is so great," Willa gushed, tucking a strand of her short hair behind her ear.

"Totally!" Elle exclaimed. "We definitely need to celebrate," she added in a no nonsense tone. Oliver chuckled and nodded.

"Absolutely," he said, placing a hand on each of their arms. "Later, we will celebrate," he promised. He saw their faces fall slightly at that.

"Oh, okay," Willa replied. Oliver felt a twinge at regret at disappointing his sisters, but he figured he needed to dive right into work as soon as possible.

"Sorry," he replied, quickly giving each of them a kiss on the cheek. "I've just got to do something right now, but I promise we can celebrate when I'm done," he assured them.

"You'd better come find us as soon as you're done." Elle grinned as she poked him in the chest. "Or else."

"Hey," Oliver laughed, "I don't think poking superior officers is allowed," he joked.

"Oh whatever," Elle laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Let's let Mr. Important go." Willa giggled.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Elle laughed as she and Willa stepped aside to let Oliver continue on his way. Oliver gave his sisters one last smile before leaving them and making his way to the elevator to take him to the records department. The elevator ride down was quiet, which Oliver was extremely thankful for. After a few minutes, the elevator reached its destination with a smooth stop as the doors slid open to reveal the records department. The room took up the entire level and was littered with file cabinets, computers, and the people who worked within the department. Oliver disembarked the elevator and quietly entered the space, choosing not to disturb anyone he didn't need to. He walked deeper into the area until he reached the main desk, where the head of the department, Miss Andrews, sat.

The sound of footsteps startled the department head out of her thoughts, and forced her to stop what she had been working on. A soft smile pulled across her face as she pushed her chair away from the desk. "Lieutenant Torres." She greeted as she moved around the desk, her heels clicking loudly on the tiled floor of the Academy. "I hear congratulations are in order." Oliver blushed yet again at the praise from the visibly shorter woman.

Syd Andrews had been at the IMA for over four years now. She was well known for her height, or lack there of. Barely surpassing five feet, she had a gorgeous smile and piercing blue eyes, combined with a beautiful crop of short dark hair. Today, it was straightened, framing her face. Although the Academy had a strict dress code for their employee's, Syd seemed to be able to get away with wearing whatever she wanted. Today, she was wearing a black blouse with a sky-blue cami peaking out from the bottom, paired with a pair of grey slacks, finished with a pair of black pointed-toe heels. Clearly, living with the Major of the Academy gave her the ability to bend the rules.

"Thank you, Miss Andrews,' he replied. Syd smiled.

"Well, what can I do for you?" She asked.

"Major Garrett told me I needed to retrieve the dossiers of cadets who had scored high on the SPD exam," he replied. For a moment, he thought he caught her smile wavering briefly, but as soon as he had noticed; her face was back to its previous state.

"Oh?" She asked as she stepped over to the bank of file cabinets behind her desk.

"Yeah." He nodded as she began to sort through the cabinets. "It's my first order as Lieutenant," he admitted. Syd nodded as she began pulling out some files and setting them on her desk.

"I take it that you're excited about your promotion then." She mused as she pulled out a few remaining files and set them down. Oliver looked down and sighed.

"I don't know if excited is right term for it," he said in a quiet sad tone as he thought of all the cadets and officers within the various SPD stations being wiped out. Some of them might've even been people he had known in the academy who had moved on during his tenure. Syd looked up at him as she set the last of twenty five files on her desk.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her tone laced with concern. Oliver paused, blinking rapidly.

"You mean you don't know?" He questioned, slightly skeptical that she hadn't found out through David.

"Know what?" Syd asked, completely clueless.

"I…I just….I thought Major Garrett would've told you," he said. Syd crossed her arms over her chest, not liking the idea that her partner might've kept a secret from her.

"Told me what?" Syd asked, her tone holding a slight edge to it.

"About SPD..." Oliver trailed off again. Once again, Oliver noticed something flash across Syd's face as he mentioned SPD.

"What about it?" She asked, her voice strained.

"It was destroyed." Came the soft response. He heard Syd gasp as she leaned heavily against her desk.

"Which base?" She asked, her voice small. Oliver swallowed thickly and shook his head.

"SPD, in its entirety, was wiped out," he quietly admitted.

"Oh god." She whispered, her hand moving to her mouth. Oliver noticed her swaying slightly on her feet and quickly went to her side to ease her into her chair and keep her from collapsing on the floor.

"Are you okay Ms. Andrews?" He asked, kneeling next to her once she was situated in her seat. Syd let out a few panting breaths as the color drained out of her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and regain control of her emotions.

"Yes," she finally said after a moment. "Yes, I'm fine. Just…..shocked," she added.

"Okay..." Oliver murmured as he slowly pushed himself up. "I apologize for the shock of the news." Syd numbly nodded.

"Thank you….for telling me," she said. "I know you probably weren't supposed to," she theorized. There's no way a complete destruction of SPD could've gone on without anyone knowing, unless people didn't want the public to know. "I won't tell anyone," she assured him, figuring Oliver was worried he might get in trouble for his honesty.

"Thank you," Oliver gratefully replied. Nodding in reply, Syd pushed the folders towards him.

"Just bring those back when you're done."

"Will do," Oliver nodded as he gathered the files up and picked them off the desk.

It was gone six o'clock when David unlocked the front door of the apartment he shared with Syd. It had been an extremely long day after he'd met with his recently appointed Lieutenant, and all he wanted to do was make dinner and curl up on the couch and cuddle with his beautiful partner. "I'm home!" He called out while kicking his shoes off. His excitement and joy to be home was cut short as he entered the apartment and came face to face with Syd sitting in their modest living room, the setting sun from the window providing the only light in the room. She was hunched forward and he could distinctly hear the sounds of her crying. "Syd? What's wrong baby?" He murmured as he tossed his jacket across the couch and set his bag down before moving towards her. Syd looked up at him, her eyes dark and bloodshot.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, her voice hoarse and strained from hours of sobbing.

"Tell you what?" David questioned as he knelt in front of her. Carefully, he reached out to cup her cheek.

"You know damn well what," Syd hissed, moving her face away from his hand.

"Syd... I don't know what you're talking about." He murmured softly. "Please tell me what upset you so much." Syd let out a shaky breath and reached for a tissue on the box sitting on their coffee table. She pulled it out and wiped at her cheeks and nose.

"I heard about what happened to SPD," she finally said. The color drained from David's face as he realized what she was talking about.

"Syd... I... I didn't know you'd take it this way." He replied finally after a moment. Syd glared at him and opened her mouth to reply, but seemed to catch herself and close her mouth. She looked down for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"It's upsetting," she quietly replied. "All those people, taken out…."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." He murmured tenderly after a moment. He took her face in his hands and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Syd closed her eyes as a few more tears slipped down her cheeks. David wrapped his arms around her and held her close for a while as she continued to cry.

It was some time before Syd's tears subsided. Gently, David pulled away slightly. "How about I order us something in for dinner and we just relax here tonight, try and take your mind of this?" He asked softly as he rubbed circles on her back.

"I'd like that," Syd replied in a tiny voice.

"Alright, I'll be right back." He promised softly. Syd watched as David got back up on his feet and moved over to the kitchen drawer where they kept all their take-out menus.

"I'm going to go wash my face," Syd announced as she got up from the couch.

"Alright," David replied. Quietly, Syd moved towards their bedroom and then into the private bath they had attached to it. She sighed when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. Her face was blotchy, red and swollen. Sighing, she turned to cold water faucet on and splashed the cool water onto her face to help some of the swollenness. After splashing her face a few times, she shut off the water and picked up the small hand towel by the sink to gently pat her face dry. Tossing the towel down on the counter, she moved back into the bedroom to change out of her work clothing. She stripped out of her work clothes and changed into a pair of gray sweatpants and a white tank top. Just as she was pulling her top on, David moved into the room.

"Good idea." He chuckled as she began to unbutton his shirt. Syd gave him a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Did you order dinner?" She asked.

"Yeah, I ordered Italian... Your favorite." He smiled gently as he pulled his dress shirt off and tossed it into the laundry bin.

"Thank you," Sydney replied, stepping closer to him and placing a quick kiss on his lips.

"Anything for you Syd." Came his tender reply as he rubbed her sides gently.

"I'll go set the table," she commented as she took a step away from him.

"I'll be right out." He promised. Syd nodded and brushed past him as she left the room and headed to their kitchen. Once she reached the kitchen, she sighed and leaned against the counter top, running her hands over her face. To say that the news of SPD's annihilation had caught her by surprise would have been an understatement. Her thoughts were immedality drawn to the two people who'd helped her through the death of her teammates five years ago; Dr. Kat Manx, and Boom. Syd suddenly felt pang after pang of guilt as she thought of the years since she left New Tech City and her life as Sydney Drew, pink SPD ranger. She hadn't told Boom or Kat that she was leaving, nor did she give them means to reach out to her, in her need to escape her life and the little that was left in it. And now, she wouldn't even have a chance to apologize to them, beg their forgiveness for undoubtedly making them worry about her wellbeing and her whereabouts all these years.

Syd blew out a breath as she fought off the urge to start crying again. There was nothing she could do now. One day she'd get back to New Tech to properly pay her respects to her fallen comrades. She sighed and busied herself with pulling out plates, utensils and drinking glasses out for herself and David and setting them on the table in preparation for their food to arrive. Within a moment of her setting the last glass on the table, David returned to the room, jeans slung low on his hips, and pulling a dark t-shirt over his head. He gave Syd a lazy smile and moved behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing the side of her neck. She let her shoulder sag slightly, leaning against him. She sighed as she felt his lips linger on her neck before kissing a trail up to her jaw. Her eyes fluttered closed as his hands moved from her waist, slowly caressing her body as he kissed along her jaw.

"We shouldn't." Syd murmured as one of his hands slipped below the waistband of her sweats.

"Shouldn't what?" David innocently asked with a cheeky grin. Giggling, she bit the side of her lip for a moment. David was a different guy, there was no denying it. He loved to ravish her with food, wine, gifts, and of course, sex.

"You know very well what," Syd lightly chastised around another round of giggles.

"Mmm, very convincing Ms. Andrews." He chuckled as he spun her around and kissed her deeply. Syd moaned lightly against his mouth as her arms slid around his shoulders. David's hands trailed down her back, before finding purchase at the base of her rear and effortlessly lifting her up so she straddled his waist. Syd giggled and wrapped her legs around him as he hoisted her up. Shuffling his feet, he moved them towards the counter, and gently set her down on it before his hands moved back to the front of the shirt she was wearing. Syd's heart quickened as she felt David's hand slip under the hem of her shirt and begin to make its way up to her chest. Just as his hand was at her ribcage, the sound of their doorbell rang through the apartment. David groaned, and Syd dropped her head backwards slightly with an annoyed sigh.

"Worst timing in the world," David grumbled as he stepped away from Syd to get his wallet.

"No kidding." Came her response as she slipped off the counter. David discretely readjusted himself in his pants before opening the door to pay for their delivery. Biting her lip slightly, Syd smoothed down her hair as she watched him open the door and pay for the food. She moved over to the kitchen table and sat down as David finished paying the delivery man and took the bag, letting the door fall shut as he joined Syd at the table. It took them a moment to portion out the food onto their plates and tuck into their meal.

"Looks amazing." Syd murmured appreciately.

"Hmm... I think other things look amazing." He commented as he leered at Syd. Syd blushed likely and shook her head.

"Eat your food," she lightly chastised around a giggle.

"And if I don't want to eat food?" He grinned. Syd bit her lip and gave David a saucy look before leaning closer to him and placing a hand on his arm.

"Well, then," she began, her voice low and husky, "you should put it in the fridge so it doesn't spoil," she added teasingly as she faked him out and leaned back in her seat, giggling.

"You're a tease." David laughed loudly as he tucked into his meal.

"But you adore me anyway," Syd playfully quipped as she twirled her fork to gather up some noodles.

"Maybe I only love you for your body." Came his teasing response. Syd playfully shrugged as she popped her fork in her mouth and chewed her food.

"Oh well," she flippantly said after she swallowed.

"You don't seem too upset about that." He chuckled.

"Well, my body is amazing," she joked, "so if you're going to have a reason to love me, it might as well be a good one," she said with a cheeky grin.

"I guess you're right." David chuckled in response.

"Of course I am," Syd quipped as she took another bite of her food.

"Hush and eat your food!" Came his reply around a loud laugh. Syd simply giggled at that and continued to eat.

Oliver moved slowly down the halls of the cadet quarters, his mind racing as he thought out how he was going to approach the first person. Making the choice had been simple, given their history. However, he wasn't sure on how to break the news to his best friend.

Jordan Mitchellson had been Oliver's roommate when he came to the academy. Oliver had tried living on his own after leaving the orphanage but felt unfulfilled by his limited opportunities after nearly a year and found his calling at the academy. Jordan had been there for a few weeks, having gone in straight from reform school. At first, Oliver was wary of him but he soon found that though Jordan had some issues with authority figures, and tended to make his own rules—which tended to involve breaking others' rules—he wasn't a bad person.

As it turned out, they seemed to have a lot in common when it came to how they liked things, sports, foods, girls, and so on; and they had hit it off right away. That, coupled with Oliver having the utmost confidence in Jordan's loyalty and strength, made Oliver undoubtedly certain about two things the moment he saw Jordan's file amongst the ones Syd had given him. He wanted Jordan to be a part of his team, and he wanted Jordan to be his second in command. Oliver knew Jordan could be the person to help him handle the responsibility of managing the team, both due to their friendship and Jordan's attributes. Oliver also knew that if anything happened to him, Jordan would step up and lead the team in his absence.

As he came to a stop in front of their door, he shifted nervously from foot to foot. Taking a deep breath, he typed in the pass code to their room and watched as the doors slowly hissed open. He walked in to the small modest dorm space he shared with Jordan, where he found Jordan lounging on his bed reading a book.

"Hey," Jordan spoke, looking up from his book the moment he heard the door hiss open. He set his book down and stood up as the door closed behind Oliver. "I heard about the promotion," he commented, giving a small acknowledging nod to the badge affixed on Oliver's shirt. Oliver gave a small chuckle and moved over to his own bed to set his bundle of files down.

"Who hasn't?" He joked, knowing the whole ordeal had been broadcast throughout the grounds.

"I'm sure there's at least someone who doesn't know yet." Jordan replied with a grin. "Probably showering or something."

"Right," Oliver commented around another small chuckle as he sat on the edge of his bed.

"What's that?" Jordan commented, nodding towards the folders that Oliver had set down on the bed. "Looks important." Oliver cast a look over at the files before bringing his gaze back to his friend.

"Files on cadets who passed the SPD exam," he replied, stalling slightly as he mentally prepared himself for what he was going to ask Jordan.

"You know, I know that Garrett is known for giving weird assignments... But looking into the files of cadets who passed the SPD exam? Probably the weirdest I've heard."

"It's not so weird," Oliver replied, "It kind of has to do with…why I was promoted," he admitted. There was a brief pause before Jordan burst out laughing.

"Dude, you sound so cryptic, tell me." Oliver stared at him for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking down.

"Major Garrett told me some stuff," he began.

"Okay…" Jordan said, urging his friend to continue. Oliver was quiet for a long moment, which made Jordan begin to worry. "What is it?" He asked.

"SPD's been taken out," Oliver finally breathed out.

"Wh...What?" Jordan breathed out, his mouth falling open. Oliver took another deep breath and told Jordan what David had told him regarding Space Patrol Delta—from the cover-up regarding the ranger team being killed in the explosion with Grumm five years ago, to the more recent tragedy of every SPD base in existence having been wiped off the face of the earth, as well as other planets. "Wh…who could do something that massive?" Jordan asked, still stunned as before as he slowly sat back down on his bed. Whatever entity had the resources and the power to cause enough destruction as an all but genocide of SPD had to be someone unlike any other.

"I don't know," Oliver spoke. The two were silent for a long moment, the news hanging in the air around them.

"What happens now?" Jordan finally asked. "If there's no SPD, what's going to stop this….thing….from taking out everything in existence?"

"That's the reason for the folders... And my promotion." His friend commented quietly. "Garrett wants me to lead a new team of rangers... And select them too." Jordan's eyes widened, more so than they already had been, at that.

"Whoa," he commented.

"Pretty much, yeah," Oliver sardonically quipped.

"Thats... _Awesome!" _Came the excited reply. Oliver looked up at him at that so quickly he nearly gave himself whiplash. Jordan caught his look and quickly settled down. "I mean, the circumstances behind it…are terrible, don't get me wrong, but…wow, this is really amazing," Jordan clarified.

"Well, I'm glad you think so," Oliver commented.

"You don't?" Jordan questioned, sounding somewhat skeptical.

"No, I mean…I'm glad you think this is amazing because….I need to ask you something," Oliver replied.

"Yeah? What's that?" Came the response. Oliver looked in his pile of folders for a moment before pulling one out and holding it up.

"I'm supposed to pick the ranger team out of these files. Your file is in here," he stated. "I want you on the team, and to be my second in command." It took Jordan a few moments to regain his composure after Oliver asked his question.

"I'm sorry, but I must have misheard you... Can you repeat it for me?"

"How would you feel about being a ranger, and having a promotion of your own? Say, to 2nd Lieutenant?" Oliver asked with a small grin.

"You're serious?" He breathed in response, watching as Oliver nodded slowly. A massive grin spread across Jordan's face as he laughed. "Hell yeah!" He exclaimed happily. Oliver's grin widened at Jordan's response. He had been worried that Jordan would decline, given his occasional "buck the system" attitude. He wondered if being in a position of authority would rub Jordan the wrong way. He was overjoyed to see that wasn't the case.

"Great," he replied.

"Who else is going to be on the team?" Came the question a few moments later.

"I'm not sure yet," Oliver replied. "I just glanced over some of the files, then came straight here when I saw yours," he replied. "I wanted to get my 2nd lieutenant on board first. And since you've said yes, that leaves one file and one spot taken care of," Oliver stated as he set Jordan's file down. "And 24 files, for five spots, left."

"Wow..." Jordan breathed out. "Do you want some help? Two eyes might be better than one."

"Sure," Oliver replied. He grabbed half of the files and stood up from his bed to hand them over to Jordan. The pair lapsed into silence for well over an hour as they pored over the files in front of them. Finally, they closed the last of the folders and set them aside. Both had created a 'short-list' pile of people they deemed to be more than acceptable for the job, and the second pile of those who wouldn't make the grade.

"Who's your first pick?" Oliver asked. For a moment, he felt odd picking the team like this, it felt like they were picking people for a fantasy sport's team or something crazy like that. He mentally shrugged the thought off and waited as Jordan looked through his short-list pile to pick out a folder.

"Alana Drake," Jordan said.

"Wait? Alana Drake? As in the girl that you slept with when you were 21? Won't that be extremely awkward?" Oliver questioned, a slight grin pulling at the corner of his mouth regarding Jordan's 'interesting' past. "If you want to go there again, there are other ways to go about it," he added. Jordan rolled his eyes.

"That is not the reason," he said, giving Oliver a slight glare. "And even if I did want to, which I don't, she's with that Derek guy." Jordan shrugged. "Her score's high...she's a good fighter….I don't see why she shouldn't be on the team."

"That works then." Oliver nodded, biting his lip slightly, to keep from making another comment regarding the past between Alana and Jordan.

"Alright, who's your pick?" Jordan asked, wanting to move on. Oliver looked through his files before pausing on one and unleashing a hearty laugh. "What?" Jordan asked.

"Well, since you don't mind Alana being on the team….I'm sure you won't mind Derek Stefano being on the team as well," he grinned. He was met with a nasty glare from his best friend.

"Fine." Jordan ground out, not enjoying the ribbing he was receiving from Oliver. Oliver chuckled and put Derek's file aside.

"Okay, who you've got?" He asked. Jordan pulled out the next file on the top of his pile.

"Zoë McAllister?" Jordan asked, only to be met with Oliver quickly shaking his head.

"No way," he replied. "I've had clean up duty with her in the past, girl complains and whines about the slightest thing. And when she's not doing that, she's just an all out stuck up pain in the ass," Oliver replied.

"….So, translation, you hit on her and she shot you down?" Jordan asked, turning Oliver's previous ribbing against him.

"Hell no!" Oliver quickly exclaimed. "I'd have to be drunk, and fresh off of a lobotomy, to want to go there," he said, shuddering slightly.

"Well you didn't have any issues hitting on Abby Simcoe." Jordan grinned. "As I recall, she and Zoë are best friends and might as well be sisters for how similar they are." Blinking, Oliver slowly removed the next file from his short list and placed it in the reject pile. Jordan raised his eyebrows. "And she was your next pick." He snickered.

"Shut up," Oliver quickly ordered around a slight grumble.

"Your life would be so dull without me." Jordan joked as he pulled out another folder. "Anyway, moving on," Jordan said, returning to the task at hand as he looked over the folder her had picked out of the pile. "Adrian Johnson?" He suggested.

"Yeah sure." Oliver nodded. "Adrian's a pretty cool guy." Jordan nodded in agreement.

"And the guy scored ridiculously high on the flight and vehicle simulator parts of the exam," Jordan nodded. "Not to mention the mechanics portion."

"Well yeah, guy's a total gear head," Oliver commented. This assessment was true. It was common knowledge within the academy that Adrian was the one to go to if your car, bike, or any vehicle, was giving you any sort of problem. He was a genius when it came to the mechanics of things. He was the Engine Whisperer, the Carburetor Psychic, and any other clever endearment anyone could think of.

"Alright, so how many left?" Jordan questioned as he tossed the folder into the 'yes' piles.

"We've got two spots on the team left," Oliver replied. Jordan nodded and looked through his remaining possible files. After a moment, he paused with two folders in his grasp.

"I think I have two that might work," he commented.

"Oh?" Oliver absentmindedly asked as he looked through his possibilities piles.

"Yeah," Jordan replied. "They scored pretty high on the exam….I don't really think they'll have any problems following your lead on the team, and they're easy to get along with." Oliver looked up at Jordan; a suspicious nagging feeling entering his mind at the level of certainty Jordan had said these two people would accept him as a leader.

"Alright, I'll bite, who are these two seemingly perfect candidates?" He asked.

"Elle and Willa Torres," Jordan replied with a grin, certain he'd made two selections his friend would approve of. There's no way he'd find fault with his two sisters being a part of the honor of being on the ranger team. Oliver's face fell as his eyes darkened slightly.

"Absolutely not," he firmly stated.

There was a brief beat before Jordan spoke again. "What? Why the hell not?" He demanded. "Your sisters are the perfect candidates for something like this. Responsible, intelligent, skilled fighters." He stated, ticking their traits off on his fingers.

"I said no," Oliver stated, mustering up all the authority his recently acquired position filled him with.

"Yeah, I got that," Jordan shot back, "what you're not saying is why not." Oliver slammed the folders he had in his hands down on his bed.

"Because I said so!" He exploded. "They're my sisters, and this is my team. This is my decision."

There was a brief silence again before Jordan tossed the folders down.

"Fine." He stated, trying to keep his voice even.

"Good," Oliver said, pleased the discussion was over. He picked the folders back up and resumed looking through them. Jordan stared at him for a moment before getting up.

"Since you're so set on who you don't want on the team, why don't you just fill the last spots on your own," he stated, his disapproval of Oliver's attitude evident in his tone.

"Dude, come on." Oliver stated with a frown. "It's not like that."

"No, you come on," Jordan shot back, "look, I don't get why you're so against your sisters being on the team. Maybe it's because I'm an only child and I can't relate, but whatever. You know they'd be a perfect fit for the team. If you're too stubborn to see that, then I don't want a hand in filling up those two spots." Bending down, he grabbed his book. "Have fun." He stated before moving from the room. Oliver simply watched as Jordan stormed out of the room, the only sound heralding his departure being the dual hissing of the door opening and closing. He sighed and shook his head, moving his attention back to the folders in his hands.

Outside of the room, Jordan angrily grumbled to himself as he stalked away from the room. He wandered for a short while before deciding that the lounge would be the best place to clam down in. As the doors hissed open, he felt his stomach turn in somersaults as he saw Derek Stefano sitting in one of the chairs. Given his recent conversation with Oliver about future teammates, he was shocked to see one of them there.

Derek looked up at him from the magazine he was reading and gave him a casual acknowledging nod. Slowly, Jordan nodded in response. This wouldn't be awkward at all. Jordan quietly walked to one of the empty armchairs in the room and plopped down, ready to just go back to his book without incident.

When the door hissed open a few moments later, Jordan inwardly groaned, knowing that his day just wasn't going to get better. Alana Drake walked into the room. Her blond hair swirling down her shoulders and across her chest. She stopped when she saw Jordan, her eyes widenening slightly as he glanced up and made eye contact with her.

"Hey," she said, somewhat stunned.

"Uh…hi," Jordan replied, praying that was as far as their conversation would go.

"Hey!" Derek interjected standing and moving over to his girlfriend. "I though you were going to be out all night." His arms slipped around her waist and pulled her close. Alana looked at him and smiled.

"Eh, got bored, thought I'd see what you were up to," she replied.

"I was just reading." Derek shrugged in reply. Jordan glanced between the couple and attempted to not roll his eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, Alana saw Jordan's reaction and discreetly flipped him off.

"Well, I know something we could do so that we're not bored." She smiled. Derek, completely oblivious to what Alana had done, grinned.

"Oh really? Tell me more," he cheekily replied.

"Not here." She giggled. "I'm not really one for exhibitionism." Her head tilted towards Jordan, who fought back a loud laugh, remembering how they had been together one night when Oliver had returned home.

"Oh right, good point," Derek chuckled, having had nearly forgotten Jordan was there.

"Later man." He nodded at Jordan, before tugging Alana's hand.

"See ya," Jordan dismissively replied. Turning slightly, Alana fixed him with a look before the couple disappeared and the doors hissed shut. Once they were gone, Jordan heaved a sigh of relief and resumed his reading.

Elsewhere, in the academy's garage, Adrian Johnson was stationed by the open hood of a car, working on the engine when he heard footsteps descending the cement staircase that led from the main level of the academy.

"Hello?" He heard a familiar voice speak as the footsteps reached the garage. Adrian peeked out from around the hood of the car to see Willa Torres idly looking around the garage for signs of life. He smiled at the sight of her, which widened to a small grin when he saw her holding a certain contraption in her hands. It was a motorized painter's pallet that she had received for her last birthday. He knew quite a lot about this gift, seeing as he had been the one to give it to her. Well, using the term "give" loosely, as he had anonymously left it at the door to the room she shared with her sister, Elle, while they were out and watched from a safe distance to make sure someone else didn't make off with it before Willa got home. He had made it out of a small paddle boat motor he found in the city wreckage yard, and connected a round tray over it. Willa could put how ever many paints she wanted in the compartments of the tray, and make the tray rotate to whichever color she needed at the moment with a button on the side.

"Well hello there, Wiley Willie, what brings you down here?" He said as he stepped out from behind the car and made his presence known. Willa blinked and looked over at him, rolling her eyes once she realized it was Adrian, the bane of her existence.

"Please don't tell me you're the only one down here," she groaned.

"Alright." He grinned. "I'm not the only one here... There are cars, parts, tools." Willa sighed and shifted the motorized pallet in her hands to hold it in one arm while her free hand rubbed her forehead.

"You're so hilarious," she dryly replied. She sighed and looked at him. "Is there any other human being down here with knowledge of mechanics….that isn't you?" She asked.

"Just me." Adrian replied as he sauntered towards her. "Whatcha need Wiley?"

"For you to quit calling me that, for one thing," Willa replied. Adrian snickered and shook his head.

"Sorry, ain't going to happen, my little Wiley Willie," he grinned. "I have too much fun annoying the hell out of you with that little nickname of mine."

"Clearly." She grumbled with a sigh. Her shoulders slumped and shook her head. "Forget it, I'll come by another time," she stated, not exactly leaping for joy at asking Adrian for a favor. "See ya around," she dismissively added as she went to go back up the stairs. Adrian's face fell and he quickly moved forward to grasp her elbow and stop her. Willa snapped her head around to look at him over her shoulder.

"Uh, hold up," Adrian said, his previous grin gracing his features, "I mean, you made the trip down here. No sense of wasting your time to come back here another time," he reasoned as he released her arm. She thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"Alright," Willa agreed. "I guess it would be a waste for me to come back down." She shifted the contraption in her grasp and held it out to him. "It stopped working," she plainly stated. Adrian tried to hide his disappointment or concern over his invention being broken and took it from her.

"I see," he commented as he took it to his work bench, Willa following close behind. "And, what exactly is 'it'?" He asked, feigning ignorance.

"A motorized pallet," Willa replied once they reached the work station. "Someone gave it to me for my birthday," she supplied. Adrian simply nodded along and set it on his table. He noticed there were chips of dried paint on the tray, indicating she had been using it somewhat often. Adrian felt a surge of pride at that.

"Oh really?" Adrian asked.

"Yeah." Willa nodded as she looked around. "Kinda wish I knew who it was, since it's a pretty cool gift." She shrugged. "I use it a lot, especially when I'm painting and it's probably one of my favorite art items." Adrian did his best to hide his smile and simply continued to nod as he opened the contraption up to see what the problem could be. Willa hopped onto the stool by his bench, figuring she might be there for a while.

"So, Wiley's got herself a secret admirer, eh?" Adrian asked, his eyes focused on the inner workings of his invention.

"Shut up," Willa replied, knowing Adrian was just getting ready to tease her. Adrian chuckled. The two were quiet as Adrian turned his work lamp on and began tinkering with the contraption.

"So, any ideas who this mystery gifter might be?" Adrian casually asked. Willa bit her lip and shook her head.

"No….but…there is someone I kind of hope it might be," she admitted shyly. Adrian blinked and cast a look in her direction.

"There is?" He asked.

"Yeah." She admitted after a moment as a blush crept across her cheeks. She smiled as the person in question entered her mind.

"Well, don't keep me in suspense, who is it?" Adrian asked, bracing himself for her response. He wondered if this was just her coy way of admitting she knew Adrian had been the one to leave the gift at her door, but he couldn't figure out how she could know. And the alternative to that would mean there was someone, who wasn't Adrian, who Willa wanted.

"I'm pretty sure it's Jordan Mitchellson." Willa murmured softly. Adrian's heart stopped hearing the name of Willa's crush, the shock causing him to lose focus and cut his thumb with the tool he had in his hand.

"Damnit!" He growled as he dropped the tool and stepped back, holding his thumb in pain.

"Are you okay?" Willa questioned, reaching to take his hand and inspect the damage.

"It's fine," Adrian grumbled, though he let Willa take hold of his hand. His heart sped up as he felt her hands envelope his own.

"You're bleeding," Willa remarked, seeing a small gash at the base of his thumb, near the webbing between the thumb and forefinger. Letting his hand go, Willa moved over to the sink and took a piece of paper towel and wet it. "Here," She commented as she walked back to him. "Hold that on your cut while I try and find a first aid kit."

"It's in the bathroom," Adrian stated, tilting his head in the direction of the tiny half bathroom in the far corner of the room.

"Thanks." Willa smiled before heading in the direction he had indicated. Adrian silently watched her walk across the room before disappearing past the doorway of the bathroom. He heard her search through the cabinets therein before she finally found what she was looking for and reappeared in his line of vision. "Sit," she lightly commanded. Wordlessly, Adrian perched himself on the stool she had abandoned as she came closer. She came to a stop right in front of her, her knees lightly brushing against his for a moment when she came to a stop and set the kit on the work table. Opening the kit, she dug around momentarily for the antiseptic cotton-balls to clean out the cut. After finding them, she pulled one out while her free hand took hold of Adrian's injured hand. "You can take the paper towel off," she pointed out.

"Oh, right," Adrian murmured as he took the paper off of his thumb and let Willa get to work. "Alright, this is going to sting." She murmured as she poured some of the antiseptic on the cotton ball and gently pressed it against the cut. Adrian winced and forced down a small groan as soon as the cotton ball made contact with his open wound. "Sorry," Willa murmured sympathetically.

"S'ok." He replied. He watched, transfixed, as Willa diligently worked on cleaning his wound, her head lowered and her attention focused on his injured hand. Within a few moments, she pulled the cotton ball away from Adrian's hand.

"It's not that deep." She stated as she tossed the ball into the garbage. "I think you'll be okay with just a band-aid," she theorized.

"Great," Adrian nodded. Slowly, Willa applied a bit of cream to the wound before opening the band-aid and carefully stretching it across the cut. "There we go." She murmured. She carefully wrapped the flaps around his thumb and smoothed her finger along the ends to make sure it as securely stuck onto his skin.

"Thanks," Adrian breathed out, his voice catching slightly at the way her finger ran along his thumb.

"Anytime." Willa nodded. She took a step back and went about replacing the items she had taken out of the kit. Adrian blinked a few times to clear the fog out of his brain before clearing his throat.

"So…uh….you think Jordan was the one to give you that gift, huh?" He asked, doing his best to act nonchalant.

"Well, I honestly don't think it'd be anyone else." She replied with a shrug.

"But…I mean…uh, what if it's not Jordan?" He carefully asked as Willa closed the first aid kit and picked it up to return it to the bathroom. She paused and stared at him, her lips pressed together in a hard line.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked. "What…..you think there's no way someone like Jordan could possibly be my secret admirer?" Adrian detected the slight edge in her tone and his eyebrows rose.

"N..No, that's not-" He began. Willa scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You know, I get that I'm not exactly every guy's top pick….I mean, it's not like I'm my sister or something," she bitterly commented, momentarily begrudging Elle's looks, "but, maybe, just maybe, Jordan's not some superficial a-hole, like you clearly seem to be," she coldly added before spinning on her heel and taking the kit back to the bathroom in a huff.

"What..." He muttered as she stalked off. He sighed and shook his head. "That's not what I meant!" He yelled after her as she re-entered the bathroom.

"Yeah, whatever," Willa icily replied as she came back out.

"Anyway." She stopped near the stairs. "Don't bother fixing it; I'm sure I'll find someone else to do it for me, who won't insult me while doing it."

"Willa," Adrian sighed, "come on, you know that's not what I meant," he insisted, walking across the room and joining her by the stairs. "I'm sorry if that's what you thought, but….I swear, that wasn't what I was implying at all," he softly stated.

"Whatever Adrian." She brushed his apology off. Adrian sighed in defeat and looked away.

"I'll fix your pallet," he said, moving back to the work station. "If you decide to wait here while I work on it, I promise not to say anything at all, if you want," he shrugged as he reached the table and picked up the tool he had been using before he injured himself. Willa paused momentarily as she watched him move back to the work station. Sighing, she moved back towards where she had been standing previously.

"Alright." She agreed after a moment. Adrian nodded and focused on fixing his invention, glad he managed to convince Willa to stay. Although Willa knew that Adrian was quick with anything mechanical, she was surprised when he had fixed it in less than thirty minutes.

"All done." He commented quietly, handing her the small device.

"That was fast," Willa remarked. Adrian shrugged as he moved back to the car he had been working on before.

"I'm the Motor Whisperer…or whatever it is I'm called," he replied, "I know my way about mechanical things. It's no big deal," he humbly replied.

"Well, thank you just the same." She replied sincerely. "I don't know what I'd do without this."

"You're welcome," Adrian replied, deciding against making a comment about her dependence on the gift he had made with her in mind, figuring this was not the time to drop a hint he was her secret admirer, not Jordan. Willa cast a glance down at her watch.

"It's late." She commented. "I should head back before lights out."

"Alright, see ya I guess," he replied.

"Have a good night Adrian." Willa murmured softly, pressing a tiny kiss to his cheek in thanks. Adrian's head swam at the feel of her lips on his cheek. He fought the urge to wrap his arms around her and kiss her full on the lips and simply nervously cleared his throat.

"You too, Wiley Willie," he murmured. Fixing him with a glare, Willa made her exit from the room as quietly as she had entered. Adrian wistfully watched her leave, wishing he had the guts to tell her how he really felt about her.


	2. Chapter 2

The following morning, Syd shifted slightly as she awoke, the sun beating into their room. Blinking, a smile pulled across her face as she felt David's arm tighten around her naked midsection as he pulled her closer to his naked body.

"Mornin." He murmured huskily into her ear.

"Good morning," she replied, snuggling deeper into his embrace.

"Indeed it is." He chuckled, the vibrations moving through her back. Syd giggled and shifted in his arms to turn around and face him.

"What time is it?" She murmured as he pressed a kiss against her lips. David kissed her for a moment before turning his head to look at his bedside clock.

"8:30," he replied.

"Too early to get up then." Syd giggled as she snuggled closer to him. "Especially for a Saturday." David chuckled and tightened his arms around her.

"I agree." He stated. "But if you don't want to get up, whatever shall we do?" Syd gave him a wide grin and ran a hand down his stomach.

"Oh, I'm sure we can think of something," she murmured.

"Well then." Came his response as he rolled her under his body. "I think we can definitely think of something." Syd giggled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Slowly, David's hands moved down her back and around her rear, before settling on the back of her thighs, gently pulling them apart before shifting slightly, and pushing inside her. Syd moaned and arched her back slightly as her legs wrapped around his hips. The couple moved in tandem with each other until reaching their climaxes and sagging back onto the bed.

"Oh god." Syd moaned as David stroked her sweat covered sides. David chuckled and placed a light kiss on the side of her neck.

"Better than sleeping." He agreed. Syd giggled and snuggled close to his side.

"My thoughts exactly," she commented.

"But I do think a little more sleep might be alright." He commented around a yawn, pulling her closer. Syd laid her head on his chest as she yawned as well.

"I think you're right," she replied.

"Of course I am." Came the chuckled response. "I love you." Syd gave a small content sigh as she shifted closer to him.

"I love you too," she replied. David smiled and ducked his head down to place a soft kiss on the top of her head. Within moments, the couple drifted back to sleep.

It was just after 8:30am on Monday morning when Oliver's name was paged over the loudspeaker within the Academy, asking for him to go to the command centre. Oliver had just barely woken up when he was summoned, and hurriedly dressed himself in somewhat presentable attire and his badge, before heading over to the top floor, where the command center and David's office was located. Once he had reached the command centre, one of the Major's aid's ushered him over to where Garrett was waiting patiently at a round table. Once Oliver had joined him at the table, the aid respectfully left them alone.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Oliver spoke after a moment.

"Good morning to you too Lieutenant." David commented, a smile tugging at his lips. "I was hoping we could discuss your selections." Oliver nodded solemnly. He had figured that perhaps that would be the subject they'd need to discuss. "Have you selected your team?" David asked. Oliver cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck.

"Most of it," he sheepishly replied. He had spent the entire weekend trying to select the remaining two members for his team, on his own since Jordan had washed his hands of the selecting process and hadn't exactly talked to him over the weekend, but he couldn't find two people he felt would be the right fit.

"What do you mean 'most of it'?" David asked. Oliver heaved a heavy sigh.

"Well, there's four cadets that I have immense confidence in, and think they'll be excellent rangers…it's just the last two spots that I'm having trouble with," he admitted.

"Well, let's talk about the four first then." The Major suggested. "Perhaps that'll make the final two choices easier."

"Yes, sir," Oliver nodded. "My first selection was Jordan Mitchellson. I feel he is a perfect candidate for my second in command on the team, and would like to recommend him for promotion to 2nd Lieutenant….with your permission, of course," he stated.

"Mitchellson is a good cadet, and I have no doubt that he would be an amazing ranger. I will gladly promote him as well." David agreed.

"Thank you sir," Oliver smiled. He hoped delivering this good news to his friend would dissolve some of the tension that had been in their room since Friday evening.

"Who else did you pick for the team?" David asked.

"Jordan suggested Alana Drake," Oliver replied.

"Interesting choice." The older man nodded.

"What do you mean by that, sir?" Oliver curiously asked.

"To be honest I never really would have thought of her." David replied with a shrug. "But looking at her profile, I believe she would be a good candidate." Oliver simply nodded, deciding against asking him to elaborate further. "Who else?" David asked.

"Derek Stefano," Oliver replied. It took David a moment to response before he nodded slowly.

"Interesting dynamic you're going for on this team. Who's next?"

"Adrian Johnson," Oliver replied.

"Excellent choice." The Major grinned. "Always necessary to have a mechanic on your team." Oliver nodded along with this sentiment.

"I agree sir," he replied. He sighed and shrugged. "And that's it," he replied. "The remaining two spots are still open."

"Now obviously you discussed this with Lieutenant Mitchellson, did he have any suggestions?" Oliver pursed his lips, debating how to answer that question. Yes, Jordan had made a suggestion, but it wasn't a suggestion Oliver agreed with. The temptation to lie and say Jordan hadn't made a suggestion was great, but Oliver had some misgivings about blatantly lying to his superior. "Lieutenant Torres?" David spoke, his voice cutting into Oliver's thoughts. Oliver sighed and slowly nodded, figuring it'd be best to be honest.

"Yes, Jordan did make a suggestion but…."

"But, what?" David asked.

"It….wasn't one I agreed with, so….it's not worth mentioning," Oliver evasively replied.

"I'd still like to hear it." Came the response. Oliver sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"He recommended Cadets Elle and Willa Torres, sir," Oliver reluctantly stated, "my sisters." There was a silence for a moment before David nodded slowly.

"Both are very good candidates." Oliver stared at him for a long moment before shaking his head.

"With all due respect, sir, you can't be serious. They're….they're not ready for this kind of responsibility."

"Are you suggesting that they didn't deserve the scores they received on their SPD exams?" David lightly countered. "Are they not good enough fighters? Are their skills lacking?" Oliver sighed and shook his head.

"No, of course not, sir," Oliver replied in a defeated tone.

"Well, then what's the problem?" He questioned. "Is it just because they're your sisters?" Oliver chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before nodding begrudgingly.

"I refuse to put them in danger," he stated.

"How old are your sisters?" David inquired as he glanced down at their profiles.

"Elle is 22, Willa is 21," Oliver replied, "but what does that have to do with anything?" Oliver asked.

"Well… Do you not think they're old enough to make their own decisions?" He questioned lightly. "I understand your reservations about them being on your team, however sometimes we have to make tough decisions in the best interest of the whole."

"Sir," Oliver insisted, "I….I don't know how effective of a leader I'll be with them on the team," he admitted.

"Are you implying they won't respect your authority, or be willful because you're their brother?" David asked.

"No…of course not," Oliver stated, "but….they're my sisters, my instinct is to look out for them. It's not something I can shut off. How can I best lead the team, or best protect the public, if I'm busy worrying about my sisters?"

"Perhaps it's something you learn along the way." David shrugged in response. "I'm not saying that it'll ever go away, but you're their older brother and it's in your nature to protect them." There was a beat before Oliver glanced at him.

"So what are you suggesting sir?" He questioned timidly.

"I'm saying, with respect, that I hear your problems with having your sisters as rangers. However, I do need to enforce what would be best for this ranger team, and the future of the world." He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "I'm overriding you as the leader of this team and appointing your sisters, as rangers." Oliver's mouth fell open as he stared at David in shock for a few long moments.

"B-But sir…" He sputtered.

"I'm sorry Oliver." David replied sincerely. "I do understand, however your sisters are two of the candidates I had hoped you would pick, as they're perfectly suited for the job." Oliver frowned.

"Why didn't you tell me that on Friday?" He asked.

"I had hoped you would've picked them of your own volition," David admitted, "either out of knowing them so well and seeing for yourself how beneficial they would be to the team, or out of sheer nepotism."

"But because I didn't, you decided to?" The younger man questioned, anger filling his voice. David sighed.

"Oliver," he gently spoke, hoping to diffuse the younger man's anger, "maybe as their brother, you're too close to see the potential your sisters possess and how they are perfect candidates for the ranger team. I would be doing you, the team, and those you are to protect, a disservice if I let that stand in the way," he reasoned.

"I guess I can't say anything to get you to change your mind then." Came the gloomy response from Oliver, whose head had dropped slightly in defeat.

"This is for the best, you'll see," David sagely commented.

"Alright." Oliver slowly replied a few moments later with a sigh. David smiled and nodded.

"Perfect," he said, "Well, Lieutenant Torres, assuming all of your selections accept their positions, it looks like you have yourself a full team," he stated.

"Great… Is that all sir?" He questioned, pushing his chair back slowly.

"For now," David nodded. "Perhaps you might want to speak to the members of your new team; just to be sure they're up for this task. I'll speak to Mitchellson about making his promotion official, and then we'll all discuss the next step," David replied. Standing, he collected the files back from Oliver. "I want to see all of you at 1500 sharp this afternoon, and I'll return these to archives for you."

"Yes, sir," Oliver nodded as he stood up from his chair.

"Dismissed." David commented as Oliver saluted him and departed from the room. Oliver silently left the main office and soon found himself alone in the corridor again. He took a few steps away from the area before leaning against the wall and letting out a heavy sigh, his chest still tight with the anger and annoyance of David going over his head and deciding Elle and Willa would be on the team. After a few moments, Oliver sighed again and stood up from the wall, continuing on his way.

Oliver entered the room he shared with Jordan to find his friend and roommate quietly reading to again. Unlike the other day, Jordan didn't even bother looking up at the sound of the door opening and closing.

"Hey," Oliver spoke. Slowly, Jordan's eyes lifted away from his book long enough to fix Oliver with a glare before settling back on his book.

"Hi." Came the cold response. Oliver sighed and moved across the room to sit on his bed.

"I talked to Major Garrett," Oliver stated, "you're getting the promotion to 2nd Lieutenant."

"Cool." Jordan replied with a shrug. "Did you guys talk about the other members of our motley crew?" Oliver was quiet a moment, not thrilled that Jordan's reaction to the news of the promotion had been so underwhelming.

"Yeah, we did," he replied.

"And?" It took Jordan a moment to find a place to stop reading before he set his book down, swung his legs over the side of the bed and glanced at his best friend. Oliver sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Willa and Elle are on the team, there, happy?" He grumbled dejectedly. Blinking slowly, Jordan felt bad for his friend.

"I'm surprised that you relented." He murmured after a moment, scratching the back of his head nervously. Oliver gave a sardonic snort and flopped back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling for a few moments.

"I didn't. Garrett overruled and made the decision for me," he ruefully admitted.

"Really?" Came the response. To say that Jordan was shocked would be an understatement. "I didn't realize he could, or even would do that."

"Makes two of us," Oliver grumbled.

"I'm sorry dude." Jordan replied sincerely.

"Why? You wanted them on the team, so you must be overjoyed that Garrett feels the same," Oliver bitterly stated.

"Yes, I wanted them on the team." Jordan nodded, acknowledging that what Oliver had stated was true. "However, I never wanted it to be forced on you." Oliver simply grunted to himself and continued starring up at the ceiling. "Look, it sucks." Jordan sympathized. "At least they'll be safer with the team if something were to happen to the academy, like what happened to SPD."

"How do you figure?" Oliver asked. "If something were to happen, don't you think the rangers would be the first on the chopping block?"

"Not necessarily." His best friend mused. "It's entirely possible that we could be lured away by a bad guy or criminal, and they could attack at that point… In fact, it'd be an ideal time for them to do so, given that there would be minimal protection." Oliver was quiet for a moment as he took in Jordan's words.

"I still don't like it," he finally said, relenting slightly. "I don't know if I can focus on being a good leader…if my first instinct is to worry about them every time we go out there in battle."

"Hey, that's why we've got four other people too." Jordan reminded softly. "We're going to look out for them too."

"I guess you're right…" Oliver murmured.

"It'll be good man, don't worry so much." He grinned, reaching over and clapping him on the shoulder. Oliver sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.

"I have to find the others, tell 'em the news….make sure they all actually want to be on the team, and then all of us are supposed to meet with Garrett later today," Oliver commented, moving off the subject of his sisters.

"Hey," Jordan commented as Oliver rolled off his bed and stood up. "Do you want me to tell your sisters?" Oliver thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, that would help me out a lot, thanks," he replied.

"Anytime man, you know that." He nodded in reply. Oliver gave him a small grateful smile and took a deep breath.

"Alright, guess I'm off to find Derek, Alana and Adrian," Oliver stated.

"You have fun with that." Jordan grinned as he stood. Oliver sighed and chuckled slightly.

"Good luck dealing with my sisters," he replied.

"Oh, you enjoy dealing with everyone else." Jordan laughed in reply. Oliver laughed as well.

"Hey man, how about later tonight we head to the bar and get a couple of drinks?" Jordan commented as they exited the room, the doors hissing shut behind them.

"Sounds good to me," Oliver nodded.

"Awesome, see you later." Giving his best friend a parting nod, Jordan disappeared down the hallway towards the cadet wing where he knew he'd find Willa and Elle. He walked down a few corridors; giving passing pleasantries to the few fellow cadets he passed on his way to the room the two Torres sisters shared. Stopping outside their door, he paused momentarily before ringing the small door bell attached to their room. He waited a few moments before he heard footsteps on the other side of the door as someone looked out the display screen on the inside to see who was at the door. A short moment later the door quickly hissed opened to reveal Willa smiling shyly at him.

"Jordan, hey," she happily greeted.

"Hey Wills, sup?" He grinned, looping his arm around her shoulders in a half hug. Willa sighed happily as she felt Jordan hug her and wrapped her arms around his waist to return the hug.

"Nothing much," she said, doing her best not to swoon.

"Where's Elle?" He questioned, glancing around their shared room.

"Um," Willa began, forcing herself to think straight, which wasn't an easy task with the man of her dreams standing in her room. She shook her head and took a quiet deep breath. "She went out for a jog about….forty minutes ago, I think," she finally answered. "Why?" She asked, worried as to why Jordan was asking for Elle.

"I need to talk to both of you." He replied with a shrug.

"Oh?" Willa asked, curious. "About what?"

"I'd rather not say right now." Jordan replied. "Sorry, but it'd be better for me to tell you both at the same time." Willa frowned, her worry returning.

"Is everything okay?" She asked. "Did something happen to Ollie?"

"What?" Jordan asked before his eyebrows rose and he quickly shook his head. "No, no, it's nothing like that," he hurriedly assured her.

"Well what is it then?" She demanded, slipping his arm off her shoulder to turn and look at him. Jordan opened his mouth to once again tell her he wanted to wait until Elle returned, when the door hissed open and Elle walked in wearing pink gym shorts that stopped at the middle of her thigh, and a white undershirt, patting some sweat off her face with a small towel.

"Um… Hi?" Elle commented, stopping dead in her tracks, suddenly feeling self conscious about her appearance. Jordan looked over at the newly arrived Torres sister and smiled.

"Hey," he replied.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you Jordy… But what the hell are you doing here?" She questioned, slowly and carefully crossing her arms over her chest. Jordan frowned, hating the idea he had somehow upset Elle.

"I needed to talk to you guys about something…..but I can come back later…if you want," he replied, not wanting to make Elle uncomfortable. Elle sighed and shrugged and walked further into the room, letting the door hiss shut behind her.

"Its fine," she stated as she sat on her bed, "what's up?" She asked.

"You might wanna sit down too Wills." Jordan commented, nodding towards her bed. Willa regarded him with a frown.

"Um….okay…." She slowly said as she sat down on her bed, moving the motorized pallet and the small easel she had been working on before Jordan stopped by, aside. He shifted from foot to foot slightly before leaning against the wall.

"This is going to sound really weird, but a lot has changed in the past few days… Ollie and I have both been promoted to Lieutenant." Jordan took a deep breath and ran his hand over his face. "But it's more than that. We've also found out that SPD has been destroyed."

"What?" Elle gasped, shocked.

"Oh my god," Willa murmured.

"Yeah…" He trailed off. "I guess there's a new big bad in town that was responsible for that, and now there's rumblings that he's headed here next..." There was a brief paused before he continued.

"Garrett called your brother into his office a few days ago, firstly about that promotion… But secondly to appoint him as the leader of a new ranger team… And Ollie asked me to be his second in command."

"Whoa," Elle breathed out.

"Who else is on the team?" Willa asked. Jordan looked up at the two girls and gave them a small half smile.

"Well, now we come to why I'm here talking to the two of you…." He replied. As the words sunk in, both Elle's and Willa's mouths fell open in surprise.

"Wh…What?" Elle breathed out softly.

"Ollie wants us…..to be rangers?" Willa asked, stunned. Jordan pursed his lips to stop himself from pointing out it wasn't quite like that. He figured, however sincere and noble Oliver's intentions were, hearing their own brother fought hard for them not to be on the team would not be beneficial.

"Uh huh," he nodded.

"That's… amazing." Elle replied, a smile breaking out across her face. Jordan smiled.

"So, I can take it that you two will take on the role of rangers?" He asked.

"Of course!" The girls replied in tandem. Jordan laughed and nodded.

"Fantastic," he grinned. "Anyway, we're all meeting in the command centre at 3, so I'll see you guys then okay?"

"Absolutely," Willa enthusiastically nodded.

"See ya." Elle smiled softly as Jordan waved and exited the room. As soon as Jordan had left, and the door hissed shut behind him, Willa gave a small excited squeal as she collapsed back on her bed.

"Oh my god, can you believe it?" She exclaimed.

"I honestly never thought something like this would happen to us." Elle replied as she leaned back against the wall.

"I know," Willa sighed, turning her head to look at he sister, "I mean, I know my score on the SPD exam was pretty good…..but I never thought it'd actually come to anything like this. Just figured it'd be a way to keep options open. And now…now we're going to be rangers? How crazy is that?"

"Insane." Elle giggled as she sat up again. "Anyway, I need to shower."

"Okay," Willa nodded as she sat up and pulled her easel back onto her lap to resume her painting. Elle stood up from her bed and gathered up her small bag of toiletries, bathrobe and towel before toeing off her sneakers and socks and slipping on the sandals she used in the communal bathroom on their floor.

"See ya," she called to her sister over her shoulder as she left the room.

"See ya," Willa distractedly replied as she dipped her brush into one of the compartments on her pallet. Once she was alone, Willa bit her lip as the conversation with Jordan replayed in her mind. Her heart skipped a beat as she thought of the hug he gave her when he came in. She couldn't believe they would both be rangers. She just knew that working together, fighting side by side against this new enemy, would bring them closer. Willa giggled slightly to herself as her head began to fill up with all the possibilities.

Elsewhere, Oliver was walking around the academy searching for the remaining three candidates. He had had little luck finding Alana and Derek, and figured he'd go see if Adrian was in his usual hideaway—the academy garage. As he neared the steps leading down to the underground garage, he could hear voices and loud laughter. He descended the stairs to find Adrian and a few of the other mechanics joking around with one another. Slowly, Oliver moved into the room, stopping near the group.

"Hey Ollie." The sole female mechanic grinned. "How's it goin'?" Vikki Bering winked at him, her blond hair pulled into two loose pigtails, draping down her shoulders. Oliver bit back a groan at her wink. She had been trying, unsuccessfully for nearly two years to get him out of a date with her.

"Hi Vikki…I'm alright, you?" He replied, making it clear in his tone he was just being polite.

"I'd be better if you'd ask me on a date, Lieutenant." She giggled, tossing him another wink. Oliver resisted the urge to roll his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Huh, well then," he awkwardly muttered, before turning his attention to Adrian, "you busy?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Naw, what's up?" Adrian replied.

"I need to talk to you, in private," he replied, casting a glance at the other mechanics.

"Ooo, you know, Lieutenant Torres," Vikki purred, moving up beside Oliver and placing a hand on his shoulder, "you know its not polite to keep secrets from people," she lightly teased, giving him one more wink. Oliver sighed and gave Vikki a stern look as he shrugged her hand off his shoulder.

"You got something in your eye, Cadet Bering?" He coolly asked, realizing politeness wasn't helping him one bit.

"Nope." She replied, popping her lips with a smile. "But I wouldn't mind having something in-"

"We can go to the lounge," Adrian cut in, his head tilting towards the small lounge off the corner of the garage that the mechanics sometimes took their breaks in; saving Oliver from the embarrassment of whatever Vikki's sentence was heading to. Oliver shot him a grateful look and nodded.

"Come back soon!" The female cadet cooed as they moved away.

"Not if I can help it," Oliver muttered as he and Adrian entered the lounge. Biting back a chuckle, the mechanic closed the door behind them, throwing the lock as well.

"There! No psycho's allowed." Oliver laughed and nodded.

"You're a lifesaver, man," he commented. Adrian grinned and moved over to the soda machine in the corner of the room.

"So, what's up?" He asked as he fished some change out of the pocket of his green coveralls.

"I've got something to ask you, and it's kind of important." Oliver replied as he sank into the couch. Adrian dropped his change into the machine and pressed the button for his beverage before looking over at Oliver.

"I figured it was important, what with the secrecy," he nodded, "what is it?" He asked, bending down to pick his can of soda out of the slot once it was dispensed.

"Well… You scored really well on your SPD entrance exams a while back." He commented. Adrian popped the can open and took a small sip before sheepishly shrugging.

"I did alright," he modestly replied before coming to sit on the arm chair by the couch Oliver sat on. He looked away for a moment, embarrassment creeping in as he thought about why it was he had taken the exam in the first place. He had originally had no plans of aiming for such heights as Space Patrol Delta, being content to stay at the academy until some line of duty called out to him. What had ultimately been the driving force to take the exam, as, of all things, Oliver's little sister, Willa. He had once overheard her talking to a fellow cadet about how she thought SPD was so heroic and she couldn't wait to take the exam herself. So, Adrian took the exam with the hopes of impressing her. Unfortunately, that part of his plan had yet to kick in, as Willa didn't seem to care or notice he had not only taken the exam, but scored rather well on it.

"Actually, from what I saw, you score was the third highest out of all the cadets who took it." Oliver replied, giving the younger man a compliment. "Don't be so modest."

"Thanks," Adrian awkwardly replied. "So…what, you're here to tell me a spot's opened up in SPD?" He asked. "Because…well, I'm sure whoever scored first and second should get a chance at it first," he commented.

"Actually no, it's not an offer for SPD… It's an offer to be on the ranger team here." Came the reply. Adrian sat back in his chair as his eyebrows rose.

"What?" He asked, stunned.

"Yeah." Oliver scratched the back of his head. "SPD was destroyed and through a huge, long complicated process, Garrett has asked me to lead a new ranger team."

"Whoa," Adrian breathed. He blinked a few times before looking directly at Oliver. "Why me?" He asked, still stunned.

"You'd be a great fit on the team, your scores are fantastic, and it never hurts to have a mechanic kicking around." Came the response. Adrian nodded and sipped his drink, processing what Oliver had said.

"Who else is on the team?" He asked.

"Me, Jordan, Alana Drake, Derek Stefano… And my sisters." Oliver replied after a brief pause. Adrian stared at him for a long moment, unsure if he should be outraged Oliver would put Willa—and Elle, of course—in such a risky position, or thanking his lucky stars at having a reason to be close to Willa.

"I see," was all Adrian could think to say after a while.

"So, you in?" Oliver asked after giving Adrian a moment to take everything in.

"Um… Sure." Adrian replied after a few moments.

"Are you positive?" Oliver asked, sensing a hesitation in his words. "If you don't want to do this, I'll understand," Oliver stated. "I'd be bummed as hell, sure, but I'd understand," he added.

"It's just… Kinda huge." He murmured in reply. "But yeah, I'm in." Oliver gave an understanding nod.

"Yeah, it definitely is huge," he agreed. "But, I think if we all work together, we'll be fine," Oliver stated, trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince Adrian.

"Yeah, for sure." Adrian agreed. Oliver smiled.

"Great," he said, glad to see Adrian hadn't refused to be a part of the team. "We're all meeting with Garrett at the command center at three," he informed Adrian.

"Alright, I'll see you then." Came the response as he stood and chucked his empty can in the recycling. Oliver nodded and stood up from his seat. Adrian exited the room first, heading back to his group before Oliver exited the room and ascended the stairs, away from the area. He checked his watch to be sure he had enough time to resume looking for the final two candidates for the team before it was too close to three, and was relieved to see it was just barely noon. He wandered around for a short while before entering the main lounge, only to find Derek stretched out on the couch, playing a video game.

"Uh hey." Oliver commented. Derek paused his game as he glanced up at Oliver.

"Hey," he replied.

"Where's Alana at?" Oliver questioned as he dropped into the chair beside the couch. "I figured she'd be here with you." Derek snorted.

"Just because we're together doesn't mean we're permanently fused at the hip," he commented. "Anyway, why do you ask?"

"I've got something to ask both of you, and figured it'd be easier to kill two birds with one stone… Guess I was wrong." Oliver replied easily. Derek sat up on the couch, curious as to what Oliver had to ask.

"What's up?" He questioned.

"This is probably going to sound really weird, so give me a chance to explain." Came the request. When Derek nodded, Oliver continued. "You and Alana scored fairly high on the SPD entrance exams when you took them, and I recently found out that SPD was destroyed… Under the advisement of Garrett, we're putting together a ranger team and I'm here to ask if you'd be interested in being apart of it." Derek stared at him, his jaw hanging open for a moment in shock.

"Are you serious?" He finally sputtered out.

"Very." Oliver replied with a nod. Derek blinked a few times to get over the shock before his features set into a deep frown.

"Why the hell do you need Alana on the team?" He asked, not liking the idea of his girlfriend being put in harms way. Oliver was taken aback at Derek's outburst regarding Alana.

"She scored higher than you did on the entrance exams, and would be a fantastic addition to the team." He replied slowly.

"So?" Derek argued, still not happy about Alana being on the team. "She could get hurt!" Oliver sighed and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger for a moment.

"Look, I get that you're concerned, but-"

"Oh, do you?" Derek cut in with a snort. Oliver fixed him with a mild glare and tightened his jaw.

"Yes, I do. My sisters are on the team too. And believe me, I fought hard to keep them out of this, but the decision was taken out of my hands. So, yes, I understand not wanting to have someone you care about in a possibly dangerous position," he snapped. "But it's for the good of the team." The two lapsed into silence for a few moments before Derek nodded slowly. Carefully, Oliver climbed to his feet. "Where can I find your better half?" He questioned. Derek sighed and picked up his game controller.

"I think she's either in her room, or in the fitness center," Derek replied.

"Thanks." Giving him a curt nod, Oliver departed the room. Once he was out of the lounge, Oliver made his way to the fitness center, figuring since that was closer, he'd try his luck their first. His guess paid off when he entered the fitness area and spotted Alana diving into the pool. He watched as Alana began to swim across the length of the Olympic sized pool and began to walk to the other end, careful not to slip on the wet tile floor, to catch her once she finished her lap. Just as he reached the end of the pool, Alana's head popped up from under the water, followed quickly by her arms as she stopped for a rest. Alana blinked behind the grey framed goggles she was wearing and looked up, surprised to see Oliver standing above her.

"Um, hi," she spoke, her brows furrowing as her face slipped into a puzzled expression.

"Hey… Mind stepping out for a few minutes so we can talk?" Oliver asked quietly, as he shifted from foot to foot. One of his last encounters with Alana had been when she and Jordan were fooling around and he'd walked in on them.

"Uh…sure," Alana said after a moment. "Give me a sec," she added before pushing off the side of the pool and swimming the short distance to the nearest ladder. She hopped out of the pool and moved to the wall to grab one of the towels off of the cart leaning against it. She wrapped the towel around herself before the cool air in the fitness center made her shiver too much, and held it closed around her bathing suit with one hand while she slid her goggles off with the other. "What's up?" She curiously asked as she moved over to where Oliver was standing.

"Here." He commented, handing her a second towel, one that he'd grabbed when he entered the room. "You look cold."

"Thanks," Alana commented as she took the towel.

"No problem." He replied.

"Wanna sit?" She asked, her head tilting to the row of bleachers at the side of the room as she wrapped the second towel around herself.

"Sure." Oliver commented as he moved towards the bench. Alana followed him.

"So, again I ask," Alana commented once she and Oliver were seated, "what's up?" He was quiet for a moment as he thought of the best way to broach the topic.

"Have you ever wanted to be a power ranger?" Oliver asked. Alana stared at him, her right eyebrow quirking upwards slightly at how random his question seemed to her.

"What, are you taking a survey or something?" She snorted.

"Well… yes and no." He shrugged in response.

"Uh…okay, that makes sense….not," Alana muttered. She sighed and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess," she finally answered, "I mean, I took the SPD exam and all that, so, sure, yeah the idea of being a power ranger is kind of cool."

"Just curious… Do you remember your score on the entrance exam?" Oliver questioned. Alana frowned slightly as she scratched the top of her wet hair thoughtfully.

"It's been a while, so I don't remember the score exactly…..but I did pretty well," she shrugged.

"You scored an 1839 out of 1900….I'd say that's a lot better than just 'pretty well' Alana." Oliver stated.

"Oh," Alana said sheepishly. "Well, okay, so I did really well on the exam, what's your point?" She asked.

"Garrett put me in charge of selecting a new ranger team, and I want you on it… You in?" He replied.

"Wait….what?" Alana asked, shocked.

"I want you… To be a Power Ranger." Oliver repeated at a slower pace.

"Seriously?" Alana asked.

"Yes, seriously," Oliver replied, rolling his eyes at how similar hers and Derek's responses were.

"Wow…" She breathed, slightly in awe. "I'm… honored."

"So, is that a yes?" Oliver asked.

"Um… Alright." Alana agreed, a blush appearing on her cheeks. "Thanks Ollie." Oliver nodded.

"Yeah, no problem," he replied, "be at the command center at three, we all need to meet up with Major Garrett," he stated.

"Sure." She nodded softly. "See you later."

"Yup," Oliver nodded as he stood up from the bench.

When Oliver returned to his room a few hours after he left, he was surprised to find Jordan face down on his bed. "You awake man?" He questioned as the door hissed closed behind him. He was met with no response from his friend and roommate. "Jord?" He spoke again. Jordan flinched slightly as he was woken up.

"Huh?" He mumbled, turning to his side.

"Oh shit you were sleeping." Oliver replied, feeling bad that he'd woken his friend.

"I'm awake now," Jordan sighed as he rolled onto his back and sat up. "How'd it go?" He questioned around a yawn.

"It was alright," Oliver replied as he sat on the edge of his bed. "How did it go with my sisters?" He asked.

"Good." Jordan nodded. "They're both pretty stoked." Oliver sighed, frowning slightly.

"I was afraid they would be," he murmured, still having trouble with the idea of his little sisters being on the team, "I was kind of hoping they'd be too freaked out or something, and say no."

"You give your sisters too little credit," Jordon commented.

"So you keep telling me." Oliver grumbled.

"Hopefully one of these times you'll listen," Jordon chuckled.

"Doubtful." Oliver grinned.

"Well, I'll keep telling you until I at least wear you down," Jordon laughed.

"Anyway dude, what time is it?" He questioned around another yawn.

"Just after one," Oliver replied, looking at his watch.

"Hmm… If you don't mind, I think I'm gonna go back to my nap." Jordan commented as he flopped back down on the bed.

"Alright," Oliver commented.

"Wake me up when it's time to go, okay?" Jordan requested as he shut his eyes.

"Yeah, sure," Oliver nodded as he grabbed a book from his bedside table to pass the time with.

There was a loud knock at Derek's door just before 1pm. "It's open!" He called as the doors hissed open and Alana walked in, her hair still slightly damp from her swim. "Hey," he said, smiling at the sight of his girlfriend.

"Hey," Alana replied, glad to see Derek's roommate wasn't around as she moved over to where Derek was lounging on his bed and curled up next to him.

"What's wrong?" He asked as she slipped her arms around his waist and sighed softly.

"Tired." She replied softly. She traced her finger along his chest softly. "Ollie came to find me earlier." Alana mumbled.

"Yeah," Derek nodded, indicating he knew. Alana tilted her head up to look at him.

"He told you he was looking for me?" She asked.

"Well, he came looking for me too….for the same reason he went looking for you," he commented.

"Oh…" She breathed. "So… what was your answer?"

"I don't think I actually gave him a definite answer," Derek recollected, remembering he was too busy being upset about Alana's potential involvement to think about his own. "But, I guess my answer's yes. What about you?" He asked, his stomach churning slightly as he wondered what she might've said to Oliver. Alana giggled softly.

"I'd be stupid to turn the opportunity of a lifetime down." She replied. "I said yes too."

"Oh," Derek commented.

"Oh?" Alana questioned with a frown as she sat up and tilted her head to look at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Derek quickly replied. "Just saying…oh," he said.

"What aren't you telling me Derek?" She questioned as she moved into a sitting position, crossing her legs and leaning back against the wall. Derek sighed and shut his eyes, his hand rubbing his forehead slightly.

"It's nothing," he insisted. "I just…..I might not have been a hundred percent on board…..when Oliver said he was going to talk to you about being a ranger," he reluctantly admitted. There was a brief pause.

"Why?" Alana asked with a sigh. Derek put his hand down and opened his eyes to look up at her.

"Because, something huge took out SPD, in its entirety. Obviously the reason a ranger team is being put together is to fight whatever that something is. The idea of someone I just so happen to care for deeply being on the front line of something that dangerous isn't exactly on my list of favorite things in the world."

"Derek…" She murmured with a sigh, dropping her head back with a thud against the wall.

"Look… I understand that you're afraid that I'm going to get hurt, but it comes with the job." She sighed.

"Hence why I wasn't necessarily leaping for joy over you being up for the job," Derek lightly quipped.

"But why?" Alana asked as she turned to face him. "Do you know how high I scored on the exam? 1836 out of 1900… That's practically unheard of when you think of it, and I _want_ to be a ranger." Derek simply sighed and said nothing. Alana pursed her lips, deciding to try a different tactic. She slowly slid back down beside him on the bed and lightly kissed his neck. "And besides, would you really be happy if one of us was on the team and the other wasn't?" She lightly cajoled. "All the times you'd have to run out on me when we're together if something unexpected comes up, leaving me all alone and most likely rather pissed?" She asked. "At least this way neither one of us will be in the position of ditching the other, and we'll be together, having each other's backs."

"Still…" Derek sighed in response.

"Look Derek, I get that you're not happy about it… But come on, think about what I want." Alana replied with a defeated sigh.

"I can't help it if I'm worried about your safety," Derek justified.

"I'm not saying you can't worry….I'm worried about your safety too. But I'm not going to stand in the way of a huge opportunity like this, just because I'm afraid you might get hurt."

"Can we just agree to disagree babe?" He questioned wearily. Alana rolled her eyes and shifted on the bed before climbing over him to get up. "Where are you going?" Derek asked.

"No offense, babe, but I'd rather not be around someone who can't support me right now," Alana replied.

"Ally, don't be like that." He commented as he pushed himself off the bed. "It's not like that."

"Yes, yes it is," Alana argued. "And what's even more infuriating is that you can't manage to support me, and be happy for me getting such a huge opportunity, when I'm more than willing to be happy for you," she accused.

"Ally…." Derek trailed off, reaching for her.

"What?" Alana snapped, brushing his hand away. His head dropped slightly and he sighed.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled softly before shrugging and moving back towards his bed. Alana said nothing and simply stared at him, her anger still bubbling inside of her. There was silence for a moment before Derek sighed. "You're right… I should be happy for you." He admitted. "But Ally… The though of you getting hurt, or god forbid something worse…" He trailed off again.

"You don't think I'm dreading that, too?" She demanded. "I couldn't stand it if something happened to you. But at least I'm trying to be positive, and tell myself that we'll be fighting side by side, as well as the rest of the team. We'll help each other out."

"Yeah." Derek nodded in reply. Alana sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you forgive me?" Derek hopefully asked.

"That depends," Alana replied.

"On?"

"On whether you're done being a colossal unsupportive jerk," Alana stated. Carefully, Derek pushed himself off his bed and moved back towards where Alana was standing.

"Ally…" He murmured softly. "I'll always support you… I'm sorry that I didn't, and you are right with everything you said… Guess I should listen more and stop making such a big deal out of it." He gently cupped her cheek and gave her a soft smile. Alana stared at him for a long moment before lightly punching his stomach.

"Now that's more like it," she teased, a grin forming on her lips. Derek flinched slightly before groaning.

"I guess I deserved that." He grinned.

"Damn skippy you did," Alana giggled. Smiling, Derek stepped closer to her.

"I am sorry." He murmured against her lips. Alana smiled and slipped her arms around his waist as they kissed. Breaking away a moment later, Derek rested his forehead against hers. "We've got some time to kill before the meeting… How about you, and me congregate on that bed for some cuddling and maybe a nap." He asked softly. Alana giggled.

"You're such a dork," she teased. Derek grinned.

"But I'm your dork," he teased right back.

"True," Alana grinned, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "And to answer your question, I'd love to take a nap with you," she softly commented.

"Perfect." Derek whispered as he kissed her tenderly again. He dropped his hands from her face and took hold of her hands as he led her back over to his bed. Kneeling slightly on one knee, he pushed the covers back and slipped under them. "Come here." He beckoned softly. Alana smiled and kicked off her shoes before climbing into bed next to him. Holding his arms open, she snuggled up against his chest, one arm looping behind his neck, and the other rest against his shoulder. Sighing contently, she smiled as his arms closed firmly around her. "Sleep well Ally." He murmured against her forehead.

"You too, Der," she contently murmured. Smiling, he pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of her head as her breathing evened out. Once she was asleep, he brushed one more kiss against her skin before resting his head on his pillow and drifting off to sleep.

David Garrett stood in the command centre shortly before 3pm, waiting for the recruits to arrive. He could feel nerves building at the thought of sending this group into battle. _'So young.'_ He thought as the doors hissed open, forcing him to turn around.

"Hey babe." He smiled as Syd walked through the door, carrying an armload of files with her.

"Hey," she replied as she approached him. David gave her a tender smile as she set the files down.

"How you doing?"

"I'm okay," Syd replied with a small nod.

"Are you sticking around to see the new team in its entirety?" David questioned after a few moments. Syd seemed to ponder that for a moment. She wasn't sure if she could handle being close to the new ranger team. The five year old wounds were too deep and hurt too much.

"I don't know," she finally honestly replied.

"Alright…" He nodded. "Actually, I have something I want to run by you later, maybe over dinner?"

"Sure," Syd replied, "what's it about?" She curiously asked.

"A possible promotion of sorts." Came his response. "You'll see." Leaning over, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Syd returned the kiss, her brows furrowing slightly in confusion.

"A promotion for you?" She asked.

"You'll see." He grinned. "I don't want to ruin the surprise." Syd frowned but decided not to push the issue.

"Okay," she finally relented.

"It's a good surprise, promise." David smiled gently. "I love you." Syd smiled back at him and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"I love you too," she replied. Just as she stepped away, the doors hissed open and Jordan and Oliver walked into the room.

"Welcome gentlemen." David grinned as Syd slowly stepped away. Jordan and Oliver both saluted their superior officer. "I trust there were no problems recruiting your teammates?" David questioned. "No one turned you down?"

"No, sir," Oliver replied.

"Excellent." He replied. "Have a seat." Oliver and Jordan nodded and took their seats at the table in the center of the room. Syd gave David a small wave before quietly departing. Just as the doors hissed open to let Syd leave, Derek and Alana strode into the room, hands intertwined with each other.

"Oh hi Ms. Andrews." Alana smiled.

"Hi," Syd said, giving Alana a small polite smile.

"Come in." David commented, beckoning the latest additions into the room. "Please, have a seat." Alana and Derek nodded and carefully moved past Syd to enter the room. "We're just waiting on the Torres sisters and Adrian to arrive and then we can start." He commented as the couple sat down, hands still intertwined. As if on cue, the door hissed open as Adrian walked in. "Ah Mr. Johnson, right on time." David smiled. Adrian nodded and, seeing that was what the others had done, moved to the table and took his seat. "Now we just need our last two, and we can get started," David commented. Their wait wasn't a long one. A moment later, the doors hissed open for a final time, revealing Willa and Elle. "Welcome," David smiled as the girls walked in.

"Thanks." Elle replied with a soft smile, taking the last two seats. Once all the intended rangers were seated before him, David prepared to begin.

"Welcome… To all of you." He started before pausing. "I'm assuming that Oliver told each of you why you were chosen, and what happened to SPD." The rangers nodded solemnly and waited for him to continue. "There's not much left to do, other then assign you your morphers, which will designate your color and call sign." He continued.

"This is so cool," Elle quietly murmured by Willa's ear. Willa discretely nodded, forcing herself to keep from giggling in excitement.

"As I'm sure you all managed to figure out, Mr. Torres is going to be your leader, and as such will be the Red Ranger." David commented, picking up a morpher. Oliver looked up at hearing his name and sat up a little straighter, realizing he was being assigned his morpher.

"Congratulations." The major commented quietly before handing Oliver his morpher.

"Thank you, sir," Oliver respectfully replied as he accepted the morpher.

"Having to choose what colors each of you would get, other than Lieutenant Torres, was an extremely difficult choice. Having given it a lot of consideration, the blue ranger is going to be Mr. Mitchellson." David commented as he removed the second morpher and handed it to Jordan.

"Thank you, Major Garrett," Jordan replied as he took the morpher.

"You're welcome." He nodded before selecting the next morpher. "Ms. Drake… I have selected you to be the silver ranger." David stated as he presented the morpher to her. Alana smiled and accepted the morpher.

"Thank you sir," she replied before shooting Derek a quick grin and pocketing her morpher. Sending her a sideways glance, Derek squeezed her thigh gently as Major Garrett turned around to grab another morpher.

"Mr. Johnson… You will have the responsibility of being the green ranger." Adrian nodded and accepted the morpher.

"Thank you, sir," he replied as David picked up the next morpher.

"Mr. Stefano," he began, looking over at Derek, "I've selected you to be the black ranger," he stated as he held the morpher out to him.

"Thank you." Derek grinned as he accepted the morpher. Elle and Willa eyed the remaining two morphers in anticipation and curiosity as to which would go to either of them.

"And now, the Torres sisters." David replied, lifting the last remaining morphers out of the case. The sisters excitedly clutched each other's hand under the table while Oliver looked on with a churning feeling in the pit of his stomach as he realized despite his best efforts, his sisters will become rangers that very moment.

"Elle." David commented as he stepped towards her. "You will be the pink ranger." Elle stood up to accept the morpher, doing her best to suppress an excited squeal as she took it.

"Thank you, sir," she said with a wide grin on her face. David nodded and picked up the last remaining morpher.

"And last but not least," he began, turning towards Willa, "Willa, you will be the yellow ranger," he stated as he held the morpher out to her.

"Thank you." Willa replied softly as she took the morpher from him, a blush creeping up her neck. Oliver let loose a small breath he had been holding as he watched his sisters take their morphers.

"Congratulations and thank you, all of you." David smiled as he took a step back.

"Sir?" Alana questioned, sliding forward in her seat. "How do we active our morphers to change?" David was silent for a moment.

"You'll say 'Active Ranger Color' and insert your color." He replied. "So in your case Cadet Drake, you would call 'Active Ranger Silver' in order to change."

"Awesome," Alana grinned.

"Now," David continued. "These morphers are also your communication devices. That being said, I am also issuing ear pieces of each of you that will be required to wear while patrolling the city." He moved back to the table where the case was. "Should a problem arise, these ear pieces, which are connected directly to your morphers, will automatically switch over so that you will hear all communications with the command centre, and your teammates in your ear, as opposed to out of your morpher. A fine protection tool." He paused briefly, looking at his team. "If and when the attacks begin, you will know. If you're within the academy grounds, a loud siren, followed by a page to the command centre will be your alert. Should you be on patrol, your com devices will flash twice, and tell you the location of the attack." David chanced a glance at Oliver, whose hands were clenched tightly in his lap, his lips pressed firmly together. "You are all trained to do this, and I know that you will not let me down… Be safe rangers. Dismissed!" The rangers rose from their seats and saluted their commanding officer before departing.

"Hey, hold up." Jordan commented as everyone began to split off once they'd exited the command centre. "Ollie and I are going off site tonight to celebrate… Maybe it could be our first official team outing together… Who's in?"

"Sounds like fun, count me in," Alana nodded.

"Wish I could." Derek replied with a frown. "I'm scheduled for city patrol from 4 till 12… Can't even leave the base." He sighed.

"Wish I could." Derek replied with a frown. "I'm scheduled for city patrol from 4 till 12… I can only leave the base for that reason."

"Same here," Adrian commented.

"Willa and I have patrol rounds here… We officially can't leave the grounds." Elle replied. "Rain check?"

"Aw, man that sucks," Jordan commented with a frown.

"The three of us can still have fun though." Oliver replied with a grin. "We'll pick you up at 9 at your room Alana?"

"Yeah, sure," Alana hesitantly replied, somewhat unsure if she was still up for going out with just Jordan and Oliver.

"See you then." Jordan grinned as he and Oliver turned and departed, heading back towards their room.

"Yup, see ya," Alana replied as she slipped her hand in Derek's.

"Wanna come over for a bit while I get ready for patrol?" He asked quietly as Elle and Willa slipped away quietly.

"Sure," Alana smiled, leaning into his side slightly.

"Great."

A few hours later, Alana stood in front of her closet, attempting to choose an outfit for the evening. She pulled out a pair of tight jeans and held it up as she pondered whether she would wear it. Sighing, she tossed them on the bed and reached for a skirt, before leaving it to the same fate as the jeans. She pulled out a silver sequin dress and scrutinized it at length. It took her a moment to decide on the dress, and unzip the side before stepping into it. She stopped pulling the dress up when it hit her waist, and quickly pulled the straps of her bra off, making it strapless to match the dress. One she was satisfied with where it sat, she pulled out her curling iron and makeup. It took her just over twenty minutes to curl her hair and pin part of it back, away from her face, and another ten to put on a light coat of makeup.

Once she was done, she grabbed a small black shrug from her closet and slipped it on. Reaching back into her closet to grab a black pair of stilettos, the 'doorbell' to her room rang. "Open!" She called to the automated system, allowing the doors to hiss open. The door hissed open to reveal Oliver and Jordan on the other side.

"You ready Ally?" Jordan called as he moved into her room. "Wow…" He breathed as she slipped both shoes on and stood up.

"Don't start," Alana warned as she picked up her small black purse from her bed.

"Why not?" He grinned.

"Um, because I have a boyfriend," Alana replied, stepping closer to him and poking him in the chest. "And besides, been there done that," she breezily added as she moved past him to leave the room.

"Come on Ally." Jordan chuckled as he followed her. "I just speak the truth."

"Whatever," Alana sighed with a roll of her eyes. As they moved outside the room, they noticed Oliver talking with a cadet. Jordan caught her arm for a moment.

"But in all honest, you do look beautiful tonight." Jordan murmured sincerely. "Derek's a lucky guy." Alana stared at him for a moment, to see if he was still teasing her. Once she was certain he was sincere, she smiled.

"Thanks," she replied.

"Anytime." Jordan replied. He released her arm and the two made their way over to Oliver.

"See you later Tim." Oliver commented as his friend departed. He turned and glanced at Alana. "You look great." He smiled.

"Thanks," Alana replied with a smile. "So, are we ready to go?" She asked.

"You bet." Oliver replied as Jordan held out his arm for Alana to take. Alana rolled her eyes and took hold of his arm as the three made their way down the corridor.

"So where exactly are we going?" She questioned as they turned slightly and came to the escalator bay heading towards the garage.

"Jordan and I thought we might check out that new club in the city," Oliver commented.

"Escapade?" She questioned as they stepped onto the escalator. "I've heard it's supposed to be pretty awesome."

"Yeah, I heard some cadets talking about it the other day," Jordan commented, "been wanting to check it out but hadn't gotten around to it until now."

"Sucks having responsibility sometimes." Alana replied in a teasing tone. Oliver and Jordan laughed.

"Yeah…too bad we just signed up for even more responsibility," Jordan joked, figuring being rangers would give them even less free time than they all had now.

"Oh please." She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you'll find a way to use your new found status to try and hit on some poor unsuspecting girl, and attempt to charm her into bed." She shot back.

"Hey," Jordan replied, in mock defense, "I would never sully the ranger title by using it just to pick up girls," he added.

"Oh well, more for me then," Oliver joked with a chuckle. "Oh," He added as an after thought. "You won't sully the ranger title to pick up girls, but if my memory serves correctly, you had no problem doing it as a cadet." Oliver grinned.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jordan innocently replied as they reached the bottom of the escalator and stepped off.

"Uh huh, sure Jordy." Oliver laughed.

"Oh shut up," Jordan laughed, rolling his eyes as he shoved Oliver's shoulder.

"You two are special." Alana replied, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe, but you adore us anyway." Jordan replied with a grin.

"What in the world gave you the idea I adore you two?" Alana teased as they walked through the garage to Jordan's car.

"It's our good looks." Oliver supplied as he pulled open the backseat door and climbed in. Jordan grinned as he opened the passenger side door and let Alana slide in.

"Don't forget our charm as well." He added.

"Eh," Alana teased as she slid into the passenger seat.

"She doesn't believe us." Oliver commented from the backseat, his tone sad. "She doesn't think we're attractive.. Or charming!" He continued, pretending to cry.

"You wound us, woman!" Jordan dramatically stated as he shut the door for Alana.

"I'm sure you'll both get over it soon enough." She replied, rolling her eyes as a smile pulled across her lips. "Just have a drink and make sure the other party has had a few too." Jordan laughed as he walked around the front of his car to the driver's side.

"You're implying that we can't pick up sober women?" He questioned, as he slid into the driver's seat.

"I'm implying a woman needs a few drinks in her to fall for your 'looks' or 'charms'," Alana giggled.

"Well, I'm curious to know how Jordan managed to land you once upon a time then." Oliver commented cheekily. "I mean, you were only 18 then Alana." Alana instantly stopped giggling as a deep blush formed on her cheeks.

"Lines man… You crossed one…" Jordan commented, shooting Alana a sympathic glance. Alana cleared her throat and looked out her window, willing her face to return to a normal shade.

"Sorry Alana." Oliver replied softly, squeezing her shoulder gently.

"It's okay," Alana sighed after a moment, "I guess I did kind of walk into that one," she commented.

"Just slightly." Oliver grinned. Alana rolled her eyes and reached up to smack Oliver's hand. "Ow!" He whined in response. "Jordy! She hit me!"

"…And you're supposed to be our leader?" Alana teased.

"Children, play nice," Jordan jokingly commanded as he started the engine of his car.

"He started it." Alana replied with a grin. "Besides, I'm the pretty one, you have to side with me."

"I'm his roommate and best friend," Oliver playfully shot back, "he has to side with me."

"And I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place." Jordan commented with a sigh.

"I have the boobs, I win all fights." Alana replied triumphantly, ignoring Jordan's comment.

"That hardly seems fair," Oliver replied.

"Ollie," She commented, turning slightly to face him. "When and if you ever get into a serious relationship, the only correct words your significant other will want to hear you say, is 'yes dear.'" She grinned.

"Well, the only 'yes, dear,' you'll be getting from me is, 'yes, dear….you're being an idiot," he replied with a cheeky grin.

"And you'll be single forever." Jordan chimed in.

"You're one to talk," Oliver commented, lightly hitting his friend's shoulder.

"Oh?" Jordan replied as he pulled up to a stop light. "Do share my friend."

"Well, I'm not seeing you swimming in female affections these days," Oliver chuckled.

"I'm trying to be respectful of our space." Jordan replied. "That and just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't happen." Oliver snorted at his response.

"Yeah, right," Oliver chortled.

"I'd have to agree with him Jordy." Alana replied with a shrug. "I haven't heard any rumors about you lately."

"Well, I guess I'm just being that sneaky," Jordan grinned.

"I doubt it." She replied with a smile.

"Hey, doubt it all you want, doesn't mean you're right," Jordan replied as he turned the corner towards the club.

"Whatever you want to think Jordy." Alana giggled as she patted his thigh gently. Jordan simply rolled his eyes as he pulled up behind the club to the parking area.

"Looks busy." Oliver commented as the car rolled to a stop and they climbed out.

"Yeah," Alana agreed as she caught sight of the line outside the door.

"It won't be long." Jordan replied as he moved around the front of the car and fell into step beside Alana, Oliver flanking her other side. The three rangers walked up to the curb outside the club and headed to the back of the line. They chatted as the line quickly moved towards the door. "Wasn't that long of a wait." Jordan stated as he handed his ID to the bouncer. Alana and Oliver nodded as they fished their IDs out and handed them over to the bouncer. As the bouncer handed their ID's back, his eyes lingered on Alana just a little too long, causing Jordan to slip his arm around her waist and pull her into the club, followed closely by Oliver.

"Why don't you guys grab a table, and I'll grab drinks for us?" Oliver asked once they were inside.

"Sounds good," Jordan yelled back to be heard over the music in the club. Alana just nodded as Jordan led her towards the staircase leading up to the second level. Once they reached the second floor, there were able to find a table near the back. Jordan removed his hand from Alana's waist as he pulled a chair out for her.

"Thank you." She murmured softly as she sat down.

"You're welcome," he replied as he took one of the remaining empty seats at the table.

"I'm sorry if what Ollie said earlier bothered you… Regarding us…" Jordan commented.

"It's okay," Alana replied.

"You sure?" He asked. "I just want to make sure that you're not uncomfortable… I think we'd make really good friends." Alana looked over at him and quirked an eyebrow at him skeptically.

"Really? With our history?" She asked. "Don't you think we're bound to have awkward moments?" Jordan shrugged.

"Have you been feeling awkward tonight?" He asked. "I mean, other than Oliver's comment." Alana thought about his question for a moment before shaking her head.

"No, I guess not," she honestly replied.

"I think it could work." Jordan shrugged. "No, scratch that. It would and will work… As long as you're willing to give it a try." Alana considered his words for a moment before nodding.

"All right," she agreed. "I guess I'm willing to try."

"Great." He grinned as Oliver returned with six bottles of beer tucked in his hands. "Need some help with those?" Jordan chuckled as he stood up to help Oliver.

"Sure." Oliver grinned. "You okay with beer Ms. Fancy?" He teased Alana as he sat down.

"Of course," Alana said, poking her tongue out at him before grabbing one of the bottles.

"Dude, she watches sports, and hangs out with the guys… Of course she drinks beer." Jordan replied, rolling his eyes as he took a sip of his beer.

"My apologies," Oliver laughed as he grabbed a bottle for himself.

"I should hope so!" Alana giggled before taking a sip of her beer.

"Well, guys," Oliver said, holding his bottle up, "shall we toast to the new team?" He asked.

"Or toast the fact that we're not stuck working tonight like the rest of our team?" Alana giggled.

"Here's to the poor suckers working tonight… And to the defeat of evil." Jordan suggested.

"Here, here," Oliver nodded as the three clinked their bottles together.

"Agreed!" Alana smiled. The three chuckled and sipped their drinks. The group spent the next hour chatting and enjoying their beverages before Oliver glanced at Alana.

"Wanna dance?" He asked and she snorted.

"Ollie, sweetie… When you dance, you look like you're having a seizure… I'd rather dance with two-left feet Mitchellson over there." She giggled.

"Ouch," Jordan laughed as he took a sip of his beer.

"I resent that." Oliver huffed as he took a sip of his beer.

"I only speak the truth," Alana sweetly replied.

"Well," Jordan jumped in. "If you won't dance with the king of seizure dancing, I'd love to take you for a spin on the floor if you're interested." Alana chuckled and set her half empty drink down.

"Alright then," she replied.

"Like that's fair." Oliver grumbled. "I call favoritism."

"You'll get over it." Alana giggled as she slipped out of her chair and stood beside Jordan.

"See ya," Jordan grinned as he placed a hand on Alana's back and guided her away from the table. Oliver rolled his eyes and sipped his beer as the two walked down the stairs and headed to the dance floor. Jordan and Alana danced together for over an hour before he leaned in towards her.

"I'm gonna grab a drink, do you want anything?" He questioned.

"Nah, I'm good, thanks," Alana replied.

"Alright." He nodded. Just as Jordan began to step away, Alana spotted a group of her friends near the edge of the dance floor.

"Hey, if you wanna go chill with Ollie, I see a couple of girls from the academy over there." She commented. Jordan looked over to where she was gesturing and recognized a few fellow cadets.

"Alright, I see you're done with me, huh?" Jordan teased.

"You'll get over it." She giggled, patting his arm. "You know where to find me." Jordan laughed and shook his head as he continued on his way to the bar. Alana quickly made her way through the crowd to merge with her other group of friends. The group danced for nearly another hour before a few other people, specifically men, began to slip into their circle. Alana didn't pay them any mind and simply danced with one of her friends.

"Hey beautiful." One of the guys stated as two approached her and her friend. "How you doin?"

"Fine," Alana disinterestedly replied.

"Only fine?" He asked as he moved behind Alana, and his friend slipped behind her friend. "You're too gorgeous to be just fine." He murmured.

"Not interested," Alana firmly stated as she shifted away from him.

"It's just one dance." He stated as he followed her.

"I said, not interested," Alana stated again, louder, as she tried to move towards the stairs to go back to Oliver and Jordan.

"Why the hell not?" He stated, angrily as he grabbed her wrist. Alana glared at him and tried to pull out of his grasp.

"Gosh, with such a charming personality, who knows," Alana snapped.

From upstairs, Jordan glanced over the railing. "Alana's been gone a long time." He stated to Oliver. "Wonder where she is."

"No idea man." Oliver replied, tearing himself away from a conversation with a girl who'd come up to them nearly an hour before. "She's probably still on the dance floor, why don't you go find her?" Jordan nodded, figuring he'd leave Oliver alone to chat up the girl.

"Alright, I'll be right back," he commented as he stood up from his chair. It didn't take long for him to reach the bottom of the stairs. He took a glance around, before spotting the group Alana had previously pointed out to him before he'd left her. As he approached the group to see if they knew where she'd gone to, the crowd parted slightly and he caught a glimpse of Alana's face, and a guy behind her. Just as Jordan went to call out for her, the guy caught her arm and spun her back around. Jordan frowned, not liking the way the guy had grabbed his friend and moved through the crowd to get to Alana. He could see her arms moving, pulling against his grip. Just as he went to step in, someone tripped into the guy, knocking him off balance, forcing him to let go of Alana. Alana, who had been pulling against his grip, stumbled backwards, slipped on some water and went crashing to the floor. Jordan rushed forward as he heard her yelp in pain over the music in the club.

"Ally!" He commented as he dropped to his knees beside her. "Are you okay?" Alana looked up at him; a flash of relief crossed her expression before Jordan noticed she was cradling her left hand to her chest.

"I cut my hand," she replied, her gaze shifting to the piece of broken glass on the floor she had hit when she fell.

"Shit." He breathed as he saw the blood. "Lets get you off the floor so I can take a better look okay?" Jordan stated as he slipped his arm around her shoulders.

"Okay," Alana replied as she let Jordan help her up to her feet. Carefully, Jordan pushed through the crowd before leading her back up the stairs. "Thanks," she murmured as Jordan ushered her up the stairs.

"Anytime Ally." Came the reply as he squeezed her shoulder gently. Alana smiled at him just as the two reached the top of the stairs.

"Hey, you found her." Oliver commented as they approached them. "What's wrong?" he asked as he saw Alana's pale skin and Jordan holding her shoulders tightly. Jordan settled Alana back into her chair and sighed.

"Some asshole down there made her fall and hurt her hand on some broken glass," Jordan replied.

"Shit really?" Oliver asked as he stepped towards her. "How bad?"

"Pretty bad," Alana commented around a wince.

"Let me see." Jordan replied as he grabbed a chair and sat in front of her. Wordlessly he took her hand and stretched her fingers out gently. He winced sympathetically as he saw the gash in the center of her palm.

"Ow." She whimpered as he helped to flex her hand.

"Sorry," Jordan replied.

"Oh wow, that looks bad," the girl Oliver had been talking to commented as she caught a glance of Alana's hand. "I think the bartender has a first aid kit downstairs, I can go ask for it, if you want," she offered.

"That'd be awesome." Oliver smiled softly at her. The girl nodded and set her drink down on the table before walking away and heading down the stairs. She returned a few moments later with the kit.

"Here we go." She commented, setting it down beside Jordan.

"Thanks," Jordan replied as he opened up the box. He carefully pulled out the tweezers, rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, antiseptic and gauze. Alana cringed, not looking forward to the stinging she was about to experience.

"I'm gonna clean it with water first." He told her as he grabbed the cup of water he'd left sitting on the table earlier. "Then I need to take the glass out."

"Alright," Alana said. He dumped a fair portion of the water over her hand, effectively washing a good amount of blood away. He could see three medium sized pieces of glass embedded in her small hand.

"This might hurt a bit," he warned as he picked up the tweezers.

"Oh god." Alana replied as she closed her eyes. Hoping to help, Oliver slipped his hand into her uninjured one and squeezed it gently. Jordan carefully grasped one of the pieces of glass with the tweezers and gently pulled it out of her wound, trying to cause the least amount of pain as possible. Alana squeezed her eyes closed tightly as she gripped Oliver's hand tightly, but remained silent otherwise. Once the first piece of glass was out, Jordan let it drop on the table before going in to grasp the next piece. They repeated the process again, however, Jordan's hand slipped at the last moment, accidentally scraping her hand further. "Ow." She whimpered, squeezing Oliver hand tighter than before as tears sprung to her eyes.

"Fuck, I'm sorry," Jordan quickly stated.

"It's okay." She nodded after a moment, taking a deep breath. "It's not your fault. Oliver reached over with his free hand and gently rubbed her back.

"Hey, I know what'll help." The random girl commented as the waitress reappeared with a tray of drinks. "A shot of tequila will help you." Alana stared at her with a quirked eyebrow.

"What?" She asked.

"It'll help calm your nerves." The girl replied as she paid and tipped the waitress. She slid the shot glass close to Alana, who continued to stare at her.

"It couldn't hurt," Oliver shrugged as he released her hand.

"I doubt that." She muttered under her breath as she took the glass and tipped it to her mouth. She downed the drink in one gulp, shuddering slightly at the taste. "I'm going to regret that later." She mumbled only loud enough for Jordan to hear as she set the shot glass down. Jordan bit the inside of his lip as he gripped the tweezers again.

"Ready Ally?" he asked, holding her fingers gently.

"As I'll ever be," Alana replied after taking a deep breath. Carefully, he lowered the tweezers to the piece of glass and squeezed it tightly.

"One, two, three." He counted before pulling the glass upwards. Alana winced as the glass slid out of her wound.

"Fuck." She breathed out as he tossed the glass on the table and a pool of blood appeared in her palm.

"Almost done," Jordan assured her as he gripped the last piece of glass with the tweezers.

"Make it quick." She ground out, squeezing Oliver's hand for the final time. Oliver gently patted her hand with his free hand as she gripped his other hand tightly. Jordan quickly yanked the remaining piece of glass from her palm and set it and the tweezers on the table.

"Done with that." He stated as he glanced up at Alana, whose eyes were squeezed shut.

"Great." She commented, her voice breaking as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"I'm going to clean your hand with the alcohol, it might sting," Jordan warned as he unscrewed the top off the bottle of alcohol.

"That I know." Alana shot back as he poured a fair sized amount over a cotton ball. Jordan gently pressed the cotton ball to her hand and cleaned her wound. Groaning loudly in response, Alana squeezed Oliver's hand tighter as pain shot through her hand.

"Ouch." She muttered after a moment, taking a deep breath.

"Almost done," Jordan commented as he swiped away the last of the blood.

"Thank god." Came her response as he tossed the bloodied piece of cotton onto the table. Once he was done with the alcohol, Jordan opened up the tube of antiseptic cream and squeezed some out on her hand. He used another cotton ball to spread it out carefully before reaching for the gauze and gently wrapping her hand. Once he had looped the material around her hand a few times, he grabbed some tape and secured it.

"All done Ally." Jordan grinned at her, patting the back of her hand gently.

"Thank god," Alana sighed.

"You okay?" Oliver asked as her grip loosened on his arm.

"Yeah, I guess," Alana replied.

"Wanna go home?" Jordan asked as he moved to sit beside her. Alana nodded.

"Yeah, that'd be great," she replied.

"You're leaving?" The random girl questioned Oliver as Jordan slipped his arm around Alana's shoulders. Oliver nodded in response.

"Yeah, I'll call you though." He commented as he fell into step beside Alana. The girl pouted slightly as she watched the three moved towards the stairs.

"Please tell me you're not going to call her." Jordan stated once they were outside and moving towards his car.

"What's wrong with her?" Oliver asked as they reached Jordan's car and he opened the passenger side door for Alana.

"For starters, she fed me shots." Alana quipped as Jordan helped her into the car. "And she was dressed like a hooker too."

"She was trying to help," Oliver replied, "and hey, she was nice enough to go fetch the first aid kit," he pointed out.

"Even still." Jordan replied as he shut the passenger side door and moved around the back of the car. "You can do so much better." Oliver simply sighed and rolled his eyes as he climbed into the back seat of the car. The ride back to the academy was fairly quiet, leaving the group to mull over their thoughts. Once Jordan had parked his car, they climbed out and headed upstairs. "Y'know.." He stated as they reached the main floor and started up the next escalator towards the dorms. "I've got an idea."

"Should we be worried?" Oliver chuckled.

"You live with him, you should automatically know better." Alana replied with a grin.

"You two are a riot," Jordan dryly replied.

"You love us." She commented, poking him in the stomach. "Now this idea?"

"I was thinking… That since you had such a crap night, maybe to cheer you up… We could sneak you into Derek's room." Jordan replied with a shrug. Alana stared at him, a smile forming on her lips.

"Really?" She asked.

"Sure, why not." He replied with a shrug. Oliver cast a glance over at Jordan, his eyebrows raised.

"Thank you." Came her response as she leaned against him in a half-hug.

"No problem," Jordan replied as he returned the embrace. It wasn't long before they arrived at Derek's door. Reaching over, Oliver pressed the small buzzer to alert him that he had company. After a few minutes the door slid open to reveal Derek in a pair of boxers and a t-shirt, sleepily rubbing his eye.

"Hey…what's' going on?" He asked.

"Hey Der." Alana commented softly before slipping into his room. "I'm gonna change." Derek frowned as she brushed past him, noting that her face was pale and there were tear marks down her cheeks. As she helped herself to his dresser drawers, he noticed the gauze wrapped around her hand. He waited a moment for her to take what she wanted and move into the washroom before he turned and looked at Oliver and Jordan.

"What the fuck did you do to her?" He spat at Jordan, stepping forward and out of his room so that the doors hissed shut behind him. Jordan raised his eyebrows, surprised by Derek's reaction.

"I didn't do anything to her," he replied.

"Bullshit." Derek snarled as he stepped forward. "She's been crying and her hand is bandaged up. I swear to god if you hurt her, I will break your legs."

"And you automatically assume I hurt her?" Jordan hissed.

"Stop it." Oliver interjected. "Jordan didn't hurt Alana." He commented, defending his best friend. "If anything, he saved her. She was on the dance floor with some of the other cadets she knew, and this guy wouldn't leave her alone. Long story short, he grabbed her, she tripped, fell and sliced her hand open something fierce." He took a momentary pause. "Jordan was the one who helped her back upstairs and pulled the glass out and cleaned her wound. So don't even try and blame this on him, because he's the one who helped her out… You owe him a huge thank you." Derek stared at Oliver and Jordan for a long moment, unsure how to respond.

"You did?" Derek questioned after a moment, his tone quiet. Jordan rolled his eyes.

"So sorry to not live up to your assumption of being some asshole that hurt your girlfriend," he replied.

"Sorry." Came the response a few moments later. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"No, you shouldn't have," Oliver commented. Derek shifted from foot to foot nervously for a moment.

"Thanks for being there for her." He stated, looking Jordan in the eyes. "I hate to think of what would have happened if you weren't there."

"Don't mention it," Jordan replied.

"Anyway, we'll leave you alone." Oliver stated, nudging Jordan with his arm. "Have a good night and tell Ally to feel better."

"I will, thanks," Derek replied. He watched as they headed away from his room, before turning slightly and entering his private code to gain access back into his room. After a pause, the doors hissed open and Derek walked back into the room to see Alana sitting on his bed, legs tucked under her. "Hey," he murmured, moving over to the bed and sitting beside her.

"Hi." She replied softly as he slipped his arms around her and rested his forehead against hers.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he gently rubbed her back.

"Tired." Alana replied as she let her head slip down to his shoulder and she moved closer to him. "Maybe a little drunk too." She giggled softly. Derek chuckled quietly and gently squeezed her to him.

"Well then, shall we go to bed?" He asked, lightly kissing her cheek.

"Not yet." Came the response. There was a momentary silence before Alana spoke again. "I wish you'd been there." She commented quietly. Derek kissed her cheek again.

"Me too," he replied.

"How's your hand?" Carefully, he lifted her injured hand and looked at it.

"A little sore," she murmured, wincing slightly. Frowning, Derek glanced down at her.

"Do you want me to get you some pain meds?" He asked, wanting to make sure she'd be comfortable enough to sleep. Alana shook her head in response.

"No, the tequila that floozy gave me should take charge soon enough." She replied, rolling her eyes. Pulling away from her slightly, Derek glanced at his girlfriend.

"Tequila?" He stated. "I thought you hated tequila… Something about it making you sick."

"I didn't choose it," Alana replied, "the floozy thought it'd help when Jordan was taking the pieces of glass out of my hand."

"Well… I hope that it does kick in soon and it doesn't make you sick." Derek commented softly as he pressed a kiss to her lips.

"You and me both," she sighed as she snuggled in his embrace.

"Why don't we lie down?" He suggested as he rubbed her back softly. "You'll be more comfortable."

"Okay," Alana agreed as she began to shift beside him to lie down. Once she had situated herself in a comfortable position, Derek moved down beside her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Night babe." He smiled.

"Night," she murmured, moving closer to him. The couple drifted to sleep a short while later.


	3. Chapter 3

Saturday morning saw the rangers waiting patiently for the dormitory office to open so they could get the keys to their new accommodations. Garrett had relieved them all of their duties for the remainder of the weekend, barring any attacks, so they could move and get settled and accustomed to their new surroundings.

"I don't get why we need new rooms," Willa wondered aloud as the group waited together.

"Well, duh, we're VIPs now," Adrian grinned. "We deserve VIP lodging."

"I agree with her." Alana replied as she leaned against the wall. "Just because we're 'VIP's' doesn't mean we should get new rooms, or special treatment."

"But we're special," Adrian countered.

"No, you're special," Elle sweetly commented, "as in, special ed."

"Play nice kids." Oliver reminded as the doors opened to the office.

"Aw, but its fun to watch them insult each other." Jordan grinned as the woman waved the group forward. The six rangers stood up straight and walked into the office. One by one, the group received their new rooming assignments, and keys. "You'll all be living in the same wing." The woman commented as she handed out the last set of keys to Alana.

"Thanks," Alana commented as she took her keys. The woman nodded and picked up a clipboard from her desk.

"The ladies will all be sharing one suite," she informed, "where you'll each have your own rooms. You gentlemen will be paired off," she said, her eyes scanning over her clipboard, "Mitchellson and Stefano in one suite, Torres and Johnson in the other."

Jordan frowned. "Is there any way to change that?" He questioned.

"Ouch, I'm standing right here man," Derek commented. Jordan shook his head.

"No I didn't mean it like that," he replied. "Just figured, since Oliver and I have been rooming together for so long, it'd be easier….we're already used to living together," he chuckled. "It's for you and Adrian's benefit more than anything."

"I don't even want to know." Adrian commented.

"Your current arrangements are already in the records," the woman replied in a tone that suggested she had no interest in taking up time in her schedule to make any changes.

"You'll have fun." Alana commented, biting the inside of her lip to keep from laughing.

"Ha ha, you're so funny." Jordan commented under his breath, shooting her a glare.

"It's fine," Oliver spoke up, noticing the overworked office employee was not planning on doing them any favors. "Thank you," he added.

"You're welcome." She nodded before standing and ushering them out. The rangers filed out of the office, the door swiftly shutting behind them once they were all in the hall.

"She was pleasant." Elle commented, rolling her eyes.

"Oh yeah, just as pleasant as a root canal," Adrian agreed.

"Anyway, less chatty more movey." Willa stated as she grabbed her sister's arm.

"Whoa, what's the rush, Wiley?" Adrian asked.

"Don't call me that." She snapped.

"Don't call you what?" He teased. Flipping him the bird, Willa stalked away towards her room.

"Such a lady." Elle sighed as she followed her sister. Oliver watched his sisters leave before leveling Adrian with a glare.

"Is there going to be a problem with having you and my sister on the same team?" He asked, his tone displeased over someone teasing one of his baby sisters.

"Uh, no…" Adrian replied, trailing off. "Just some good natured ribbing."

"Good natured ribbing, huh?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest in a bid to intimidating the younger ranger.

"Uh huh," Adrian replied.

"I guess no one told her about the 'good natured' part," he commented before walking away. Once Oliver was gone, Adrian heard Derek chuckle and clap him on the back.

"Looks like you and your new roomie are going to get along great," he laughed.

"Oh god." Adrian muttered in reply. Alana reached over and squeezed his arm gently.

"Ollie's a nice guy… He's just overly protective of his sisters." She stated, giving him a smile.

"That's the understatement of the year," Jordan commented, thinking of all the male cadets who Oliver had scared off for even flirting with Elle, and the times when Willa had first joined the academy when Oliver nearly ripped the head off of any cadet who might've hurt her during combat training.

"Eat me Jordy." Alana shot with a smile. "And with that, I'm off to pack." She kissed Derek's cheek softly before departing.

"Hey, I was just saying you're right, Ollie's protective," Jordan called after her as she left them.

"She's got a point though." Derek commented. "We should get to packing."

"Yeah," Adrian nodded in agreement. The group dispersed and headed back towards their rooms.

((((((((((((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))))))))

Nearly six hours later, Elle dropped the last box in her room and slowly shuffled back out to the living room in her shared suite with Willa and Alana. She wasn't surprised to see her younger sister draped over a chair, but she was surprised to see Alana sprawled out on the floor. "I'm exhausted." Elle commented as she dropped onto the couch with a heavy sigh.

"Ditto," Alana sighed.

"Uh huh," Willa commented.

"I'm also starving." Alana groaned as her stomach rumbled. "But I really don't want to move." Just as she finished her comment, the doorbell to the suite rang. "And if they think we're getting up to answer that door, they're severely mistaken." She grumbled.

"Willa, I vote you do it," Elle commented.

"Oh, that's funny, because I vote you do it," Willa countered without missing a beat.

"Here's a novel idea," Alana interjected. "IT'S OPEN!" She yelled. A few moments later the door opened as Oliver, Jordan, Adrian, and Derek came in, each carrying a couple of boxes of pizza.

"Working hard ladies, or hardly working?" Adrian snickered.

"Ugh, I'm too tired to take my shoe off and throw it at him," Willa groaned, "anyone else want to do it for me?" Elle chucked a pillow at Adrian, who sidestepped the projectile.

"I tried." She sighed.

"Hey now, be nice," Adrian commented as the four boys moved over to the dining table near the kitchen area and set the boxes down. "We come bearing sustenance."

"God that smells amazing…" Alana whined as the scent invaded the room.

"Why don't you come on over here and have some?" Derek chuckled. Alana groaned and lifted her head just enough to give her boyfriend a pout.

"Bring it to me?" She asked in a meek voice, hoping it'd be enough to get Derek to do her bidding.

"Actually, that's a good idea." Jordan commented as he grabbed some plates from the cupboard. "We can all sit over there and watch a movie while we eat."

"Hey, if it means we don't have to get up, sounds good to me," Elle commented.

"You're lazy." Oliver teased as he sat in front of Willa's chair.

"We're tired," Elle corrected. "There's a difference."

"Uh huh, sure," Jordan chuckled as he brought the plates over and set them on the coffee table by the couch. Once everything was in place, Jordan took a seat next to Elle, and Adrian grabbed the remaining spot on the couch. Derek plopped down next to where his girlfriend lay and helped her move into a sitting position. Oliver picked up the remote to the television and turned it on and began to flip stations while everyone tucked into their food.

"Ahhh, this is good," Alana happily murmured around her first bite of pizza.

"Agreed." Willa smiled as she bit off a piece of her own slice. In the span of two hours, the group devoured all the food that the boys had brought in with them and by the end of the movie, Alana, Elle, Oliver and Adrian had all fallen asleep. Jordan looked over at the others before his glance met with Willa's and Derek's.

"Looks like we're the last ones standing," he quietly chuckled.

"I'm not far behind." Willa commented around a yawn.

"Perhaps we should call it a night," Derek commented as he moved into a kneeling position. "I'll take Ally to bed," he added as he gathered his sleeping girlfriend in his arms.

"Willa, think you can open your sister's room and I'll take her?" Jordan offered as Derek moved towards Alana's room.

"Um, yeah…sure," Willa commented as she stood up and stepped around Oliver and Adrian to get to Elle's bedroom. Jordan carefully gathered Elle in his arms, and she moaned softly before shifting slightly.

"Wha…" She murmured, the movement rousing her slightly. Her eyes blinked open just as Jordan lifted her off the couch.

"Hey, just taking you to your room, go back to sleep," Jordan quietly whispered with a smile.

"Mmm, okay." She replied as a smile pulled across her lips. "Thanks Jordy." Her eyes drifted shut as she curled against his chest and fell back asleep. On the other side of the room, Willa watched Elle and Jordan, her lips pressed together in a hard line and her eyes narrowed slightly. Jordan carried Elle away from the couch and moved over to where Willa stood by Elle's open bedroom door. Once Jordan had entered her room, he carefully set her down on her bed.

"Night Elle." He smiled gently, pushing some hair out of her eyes. Elle simply sighed in her sleep and turned to her side. Jordan smiled and kissed and lightly touched her cheek before stepping away from the bed. He turned to see Willa watching them. He smiled at her. "Alright, guess Derek and I will wake the guys and haul them out of your place," he lightly joked as he walked out of the room.

"You do that." Willa replied as she let Elle's door slam behind her.

"What's wrong Wills?" He asked as she stalked across the living room. Willa stopped and spun around to glare at him.

"What's going on between you and my sister?" She demanded.

"What?" Jordan replied, his mouth falling open slightly.

"You heard me," she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"There's nothing going on between Elle and me… Why are you so upset?" He asked, moving towards her. Willa stared up at him for a moment, her jaw tight. "Wills, come on… What's wrong?" Jordan asked softly. He continued getting closer to her until he was standing right in front of her. He gave her a small smile and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Come on Wills, whatever it is, you can tell me," he encouraged. Willa continued to stare at him and blinked before opening her mouth. She took a deep breath and prepared to speak, but instead closed her mouth again and continued to look at him as if she were considering something. The following moment, before Jordan could react, Willa's hands moved to either side of his neck, bringing him down to her level, before she crashed her lips onto his. Jordan's eyes widened in shock as Willa kissed him. It took him a moment to realize what was going on before he carefully pulled away from the kiss. "Willa, what the hell was that?" He asked. Willa looked up at him, her face falling as she realized not only what she had done, but Jordan's unfavorable reaction.

"I…..I'm sorry," she said in a small voice as she stepped away.

"Wills," He commented softly as she stepped away. Willa blinked as her eyes began to fill with tears.

"I sh…should go to bed," she murmured, looking away.

"Wills." Jordan repeated as he stepped closer to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Talk to me."

"I…. I can't." She replied, shaking her head as tears began to fall.

"Sure you can," Jordan softly told her. He took one hand off of her shoulders and gently wiped away one of her tears with his thumb. Willa closed her eyes and leaned into his touch for a moment. She slowly reopened her eyes and looked at him.

"I…..I'm in love with you," she quietly admitted. Jordan blinked as her words hit him.

"Oh Wills…" He murmured softly. Willa bit her lip and stepped closer to him, her hands moving to his chest.

"I know, I know, it might be weird, I mean, you and Ollie being best friends, and him being so overprotective of me and Elle all the time….but, we could make it work, I think," she hopefully said. Jordan breathed a sad sigh and shook his head.

"Wills, that's not it…" He carefully replied.

"Wh… What?" She breathed, taking a half-step backwards. Jordan's heart clenched and he swallowed thickly as he mustered up the courage to continue, just knowing he'd be hurting someone he cared about.

"Willa, I care about you, a lot. I just...don't feel like that…towards you." he whispered.

"Oh…" She commented her voice breaking as she took a step backwards, her eyes swimming with tears. "Oh of course… I understand." She nodded.

"Willa," he breathed, hearing the hurt in her voice.

"No, I totally get it," she nodded again as tears rolled down her cheeks, "It's fine, forget I said anything." Jordan opened his mouth to reply when a groan from where they had left Adrian and Oliver was heard. Jordan and Willa were surprised and looked over to see Oliver sitting up and rubbing his eye.

"What time is it?" He groggily murmured.

"Time for bed." Willa commented, her voice shaking. "Night Ollie." Turning on her heel, she moved towards her room and slammed the door behind her. Jordan looked over at Willa's closed bedroom door and for a moment considered going to her to make sure she was alright. In the end, he decided it'd probably be for the best if he left her alone for now. He sighed and turned around to look at Oliver.

"We should probably wake Adrian up and get out of here," he commented.

"I'm awake," Adrian commented as he sat up and looked at him. Jordan blinked a few times, taken aback by Adrian being fairly more alert than Oliver, and for the hard look Adrian seemed to be currently giving him.

"Oh, okay, great," he replied.

"Uh huh." Adrian replied as he pushed himself up and onto his feet.

"Did Derek leave already?" Oliver asked around a yawn as he slowly got up. Jordan frowned.

"I don't think so," he replied, "I thought he was just putting Ally to bed….but he should've been out by now," he mused. As if on cue, Alana's door opened and Derek appeared.

"Hey, I think I'm going to hang here with Alana tonight," he commented.

"Here's hoping the walls are sound-proof." Oliver snickered from his spot on the floor.

"Haha, very funny," Derek dryly replied before disappearing back inside Alana's room and shutting the door.

"Get up man." Jordan commented, rolling his eyes.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," Oliver replied as he stood up.

"Willa and Elle in bed?" He questioned as he stretched.

"How tired are you?" Jordan chuckled. "You did see Willa just go off to bed when you woke up, didn't you?" Oliver blinked.

"Oh…right," he replied. "Sorry, guess I was still half asleep," he replied. "What about Elle?" He asked.

"Yeah, she's in bed," Adrian answered for Jordan. Jordan looked over at him, wondering exactly how long he had been awake and how much he had heard.

"Alright." Oliver replied with a yawn. "Let's go then."

"Yeah," Jordan nodded.

(((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))

The following morning, Willa exited her room to find Elle curled up on the couch watching cartoons with a bowl of cereal in her lap. "Hey." Her older sister grinned.

"Hi," she replied as she moved to the kitchen.

"So I figured that once Alana gets up, we can put some tunes on and organize the living room and kitchen to make it look more our style in here. How's that sound?" Elle questioned as Willa began to dig through the fridge.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Willa distantly replied. Elle frowned and set her bowl down on the coffee table.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No, everything's just peachy." Willa fired back. Elle stood up and moved towards the kitchen.

"Willie?" She asked. Willa paused and turned to look at her sister for a moment. She sighed and shook her head.

"Nothing," She replied. "….Just didn't sleep well last night, I guess," she explained, "feeling a little cranky."

"I've got cartoons on if you wanted to watch them." Elle offered as she stepped into the kitchen. "I know how much you love cartoons." Willa frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked. "Are you saying I'm immature?"

"Huh?" Elle asked, her brows furrowed in confusion.

"You're calling me immature because I like cartoons." Willa spat. "Thanks a lot, you're an amazing sister."

"Wow, you weren't kidding about feeling cranky," Elle muttered.

"Oh, bite me!" Willa yelled.

"Willie," Elle spoke, taking a step closer. "I don't know what's going on, but I swear, I was not calling you immature. I'd never think that about you," she sincerely replied.

"A likely story." Willa snarled as she stormed out of the kitchen. Elle quickly followed her younger sister.

"Willa, come on, what's really going on?" She asked.

"Nothing." The younger Torres sister snapped.

"Bull," Elle insisted.

"Go to hell." Willa shot as she stopped in front of her bedroom door.

"Willa," Elle sighed as she continued to follow her, "come on, talk to me, please?" She gently pleaded.

"You know exactly why!" She fired back.

"What are you talking about?" Elle asked.

"Jordan!" Willa shrieked. Elle blinked a few times, still confused.

"What about Jordan?" She asked.

"How long did you think you could keep your relationship a secret Elle?"

"Huh?" Elle exclaimed, her voice going up an octave. "What relationship are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid Elle; it doesn't look good on you." Willa replied, crossing her arms.

"Believe me, I'm not playing stupid," she replied, "Jordan and I have no relationship." She sighed. "Come on, Willie," she gently continued, "I know how much you like him. I'd never hurt you like that."

"Then why did you act like a couple last night when he put you to bed?" Her younger sister demanded. "He kissed you!"

"What are you talking about?" Elle replied, shocked.

"When he put you down on your bed, he kissed you." Willa commented, suddenly feeling an overwhelming urge to cry wash over her.

"Wills." Elle commented gently, stepping towards her sister. "There is nothing between Jordan and me."

"Yeah, sure," Willa shot back, unconvinced.

"Why would I do that?" Elle demanded. "Please tell me why you think I'd go back on my word?"

"I… I don't know." Her sister replied lamely a few moments later. Elle sighed and took a few steps closer to her sister.

"Because deep down you know I would never, ever, ever, even think of hurting you," she commented. The younger girl took a deep breath and sighed.

"I'm sorry." Elle smiled, glad to see she had gotten through to Willa and moved closer to give her a hug.

"It's okay," she replied. After a moment, Elle stepped away. "I need to grab something from the lounge; I'll be back shortly, okay?"

"Okay," Willa nodded. Giving her sister a smile, Elle moved from their suite and waited for the doors to hiss shut behind her, before storming off towards Jordan and Derek's shared suite. Once she reached the room, she pounded on the door fiercely. It took a few moments before the door hissed open and a highly disheveled Jordan appeared in the doorframe, shirtless with his boxers snug around his hips.

"Morning Elle." He commented around a yawn. As soon as Elle laid eyes on his face, her hand swung out and she slapped him as hard as she could.

"Ow!" Jordan cried as he stumbled backwards, holding his cheek. "The hell was that for?" Elle moved into the suite and let the door hiss shut behind her.

"What the hell did you say to my sister?" She demanded. Jordan looked at her as he rubbed his cheek.

"What?" He asked.

"Don't play dumb, asshole," Elle hissed. "What the hell did you say to her to make her think you and I were together?"

"…I didn't say anything?" Jordan replied, his brows furrowing.

"Oh, okay, so you just took the liberty to kiss me while I was sleeping and you were putting me to bed, then?" She challenged, crossing her arms.

"I didn't realize it was a crime to kiss someone goodnight." He grumbled as he threw himself onto the couch.

"When you're not dating the person it is!" Elle shrieked as she moved closer to him. Jordan rolled his eyes.

"I kissed you on the cheek, its not like I shoved my tongue down your throat." Elle fell silent as Jordan stood. "Look, I'm sorry that I kissed you, god forbid." He grumbled. "Is that all?" He asked as he stepped aside and moved to the door to show her out.

"Willa's upset," Elle stated. "So, obviously something more than just a kiss on the cheek happened."

"She… May have kissed me." Came the mumbled statement. Elle's eyes widened at that.

"What?" She asked.

"Yeah…" He sighed. "She kissed me and…told me how she feels about me," he muttered as he scratched the back of his neck.

"And let me guess." Elle stated after a moment. "You don't feel the same." Jordan sighed and looked down.

"I didn't want to hurt her," he replied. "But I couldn't lie to her."

"I guess being honest with Willa is better than leading her on." Elle conceded after a few moments… "Why though?"

"Why what?" Jordan asked as he moved to the kitchen and got himself a coffee cup from the cabinet.

"Why you don't return her feelings." Elle stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Jordan paused a moment to consider her words before he shrugged.

"I just….don't," he replied as he moved over to the coffee machine. "That's not how I see her."

"Oh." She replied after a brief pause. "Well…maybe you could try," she commented. "I mean, maybe if you just took her out or something…..your feelings would change."

"I don't think so." Jordan replied as he turned to face her. "Besides… I kinda like someone else." Elle's eyes narrowed at that.

"You broke my baby sister's heart because of someone else?" She demanded as she walked over to him in the kitchen. "You pick some bimbo cadet over Willa? What the hell is wrong with you?" She snapped, slapping his arm. "My sister is a person of substance. You'd have to look far and pretty fucking wide to find someone as good as her!"

"Actually no, it's not some bimbo cadet." He shot back. "She's gorgeous, intelligent woman with a beautiful personality."

"Yeah right," Elle spat. "I bet she's some nimrod who can barely do simple math, with implants the size of Mt. Everest. Yeah, loads of personality there," Elle hissed.

"Why would you say that?" He questioned, slightly hurt.

"Because I know you Jordan." Elle replied with a sigh.

"Obviously, not very well," Jordan shot back.

"Prove me wrong then." She stated, holding her arms open. Jordan stared at her for a moment before setting his coffee cup down and quickly moving closer to her. His arms went around her waist just as his lips pressed against hers. Elle's eyes widened in surprised as he deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping across her lips, asking for permission. Elle surprised herself parting her lips, allowing his tongue entrance as her hands rested on his shoulders. After a few moments, when air became necessary, Jordan pulled away and rested his forehead against hers.

"It's you." He breathed out.


	4. Chapter 4

Elle breathed heavily for a few moments, her head swimming slightly as she tried to make sense of what had just happened.

"What?" She finally managed to say.

"I said, it's you." Jordan repeated softly. He looked into her eyes for a moment before leaning forward to kiss her again. Elle was almost ready to let him, until a thought made her stop and pull away.

"No," she quietly stated as she forced herself to back away from him and put some much needed distance between them.

"Pardon?" He questioned, frowning as she moved away from him.

"We can't…..I can't do this," she firmly stated, shaking her head.

"I think the fact that we just did, suggests that yes we have the ability…"

"This isn't funny, Jordan," Elle reprimanded. "That….that can never happen again, and you know exactly why."

"Because of Willa?" Came the question as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes, because of Willa," Elle nodded, running a hand through her hair.

"Elle…" Jordan murmured as he took a step towards her.

"Willa is one of the top most important people to me. I could never do anything to hurt her…and this….this would kill her," Elle said, shaking her head again and taking a step backwards.

"If she didn't know it wouldn't hurt her." He murmured under his breath. Elle stared at him, surprised by his words.

"…I'm sorry, so let me get this straight, you're suggesting I lie to my sister, my best friend…and in doing so, we in effect lie to everyone else….my brother and your best friend included…..for this?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Jordan sighed, running his hand over his face.

"Elle… Do you even know how long I've wanted to kiss you? To be with you in any way other than just a friend?" He questioned, moving forward. "Because it's been a hell of a long time." Elle's mouth fell open, partly out of shock and partly out of not knowing what to say at that. "So," Jordan continued, taking another step closer to her, "when it comes to lying to Oliver and anyone else about how I feel about you…..I'm pretty much used to it."

"Wh…Why?" She choked out after a few moments.

"Why what?" Jordan questioned.

"Why do you like me?" Elle asked meekly. Jordan looked at her, taken aback that she'd ask such a thing and took a few more steps closer to her.

"What's not to like?" He softly asked, his arms moving around her waist.

"Jordy…" She protested softly as he drew her closer.

"Don't worry about Willa, or Ollie, or anyone," Jordan gently insisted, "just focus on what you want, how you feel."

"I… I don't know." Elle breathed out.

"Don't know what?" He asked softly as he stroked her arm gently.

"How I feel," Elle murmured.

"Give it time then." Jordan offered. Carefully, he let his hand wander up her arm, stopping at her chin to bring her eyes level with his. "I'm not going anywhere." He slowly pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss. Elle's eyes drifted shut as she let herself sink into the kiss. It took Jordan a moment to pull away from the kiss, and he gave Elle a smile as he stroked her face. Elle blushed and cast her eyes downwards slightly as Jordan smiled at her. "You're beautiful." He murmured. Elle's heart rate quickened ever so slightly at that as her blush intensified. "But I should let you go…" He sighed sadly. Elle was surprised by the sudden cold empty feeling that drifted into the pit of her stomach for a moment when she felt Jordan release her. She nervously cleared her throat and nodded.

"Um…yeah….I should…go back to my room," she stammered slightly. He flashed a grin and kissed her quickly.

"Don't let me keep you." Came his response. Elle took a deep breath to try and regain control of her jack hammering heart and nodded before heading towards the door.

"Bye." She whispered softly as she exited the room. Once she was out in the hall and the door hissed shut behind her, she leaned against it and let out a deep sigh. Elle let her head rest against the wall as she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. A few moments later, she stood up from the door and made her way back across the hall to her suite. As the doors hissed open to her room, she spotted Derek lounging of the couch in the living room, while Alana was sprawled on the couch, her head in his lap. "Uh, morning." Elle commented. Alana tilted her head to look at Elle and smiled.

"Hey," she lazily greeted.

"Mornin." Derek nodded.

"So Willa was saying that we should decorate our new abode." Alana commented as Elle moved towards the kitchen. Elle opened up their shared refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water.

"Okay," she replied, though her mind was elsewhere.

"The boys said that they'd even treat for dinner once we were finished." The blond ranger continued. Elle took a sip of her water and simply nodded along to whatever Alana was saying. Alana peered at her suitemate and fellow ranger, suspecting she was only barely listening to what she was saying. "And I just found out I'm carrying the second coming, I think I might name him Bob," Alana breezily added. Derek quirked an eyebrow and peered down at his girlfriend curiously.

"Sounds good," Elle commented as she took another sip of water. Alana nudged her head towards the door.

"Out babe… I'll see you later." She kissed him quickly before slipping off the couch and moving towards Elle.

"Um, alright," Derek replied as he stood up from the couch. Alana waited for Derek to leave the room, and the doors to hiss quiet before she looked at Elle again.

"What's going on?" She questioned.

"What do you mean?" Elle evasively asked her gaze elsewhere.

"Elle, don't play stupid." Alana commented.

"I'm not," Elle replied with a shrug. The blond ranger paused for a moment.

"Oh my god, it's a boy isn't it?" She asked with a smile. "I know that look." Elle's eyes widened as her gaze quickly shifted to Alana.

"Wh…what? No…of course not," she quickly replied.

"You're lying!" Alana giggled. "Tell me!"

"Where's Willa?" Elle asked, changing the subject.

"I think she fell back asleep? I don't know." Alana replied.

"Ah," Elle said. She let off a forced yawn. "You know what, that sounds like a good idea, I'm going to go take a nap," she commented as she made her way to her room.

"Uh huh… Good way to avoid the questions too." Alana teased.

"I'm not avoiding anything," Elle nonchalantly replied. "There's no guy, nothing to share."

"Y'know… I might not be your sister, but I can keep a secret, and I'm here if you want to talk." The older girl murmured in response. Elle stared at Alana for a moment, weighing her options whether or not to come clean. Sighing she turned back around.

"Okay… You're right, there's a guy… But it's complicated, and not something I can tell my sister… Or that you can tell her either." Elle added as an after though.

"Ooh, I'm intrigued," Alana commented with a grin.

"Can we do this in your room?" Elle questioned, a pleading tone entering her voice.

"Yeah, sure," Alana nodded as she stood up from the couch and led the way to her room.

"Thank god." The shorter girl murmured as the crossed the living room into Alana's room. Once the two were inside Alana's room, Alana shut the door and moved across the bedroom to plop down on the edge of her bed.

"Spill." She commented with a smile. Elle let out a deep breath and nervously wrung her fingers as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"W…um…Willa, she's sort of had this thing for this guy for…well….practically since the day she got here," Elle began. "And….I guess last night she told him how he felt, and he didn't feel the same."

"Oh…poor Will," Alana murmured. Elle bit her lip and nodded.

"Uh yeah….so….this guy, I went to talk to him about what happened and…" She pasued, her voice catching in her throat as her mind went back to Jordan kissing her not to long ago.

"And?" Alana asked. Elle cleared her throat and forced the memory out of her head.

"W..well, he sort of indicated that, he's not interested in my sister, he's interested in me," Elle stated, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. Alana blinked and nodded slowly.

"That's quite the predicament you're in then… Rock, hard place and such." She commented with a wave of her hand.

"No kidding," Elle sighed.

"Well, first things first….are you interested in him?" Alana asked. The younger girl paused for a moment. Clearly, Jordan was highly attractive, with a fairly decent personality to boot. She nodded slowly after a moment.

"I think so..." She sighed and sat down next to Alana. "I don't know, maybe I've liked for a while and just…..not wanting to step on my sister's toes or anything, pushed it out of my head. But…." She let out a sigh as the feel of Jordan's lips on hers entered her mind once again. "The moment he kissed me, it….it felt amazing," she quietly stated.

"Whoa, wait, what? He kissed you!" Alana commented, scooting closer to Elle. "You need to give me full details! Who is this guy?"

"Wh…why does that matter?" Elle asked. Alana sighed.

"It probably doesn't, and I guess I'm just being nosey… I'm not used to having girl friends who don't have ulterior motives." She shrugged. Elle furrowed her brows at that.

"What do you mean, ulterior motives?" She asked. Blushing, Alana glanced down.

"Two reasons for that… Firstly, Derek is gorgeous and that really doesn't go unnoticed here… Granted, there are a few who are better looking, but he's quite a guy… So girls try and get close to me in order to try and interject in our relationship and break us up." She paused and glanced up. "The second one, which I'm sure everyone knows is of who my parents are… They think I got accepted here because of them, and their money… So people flock to me in hopes that they'll be on the receiving end of the wealth, fame and fortune that comes with being a Drake." Elle was quite surprised by what Alana was saying. Sure, in her time at the academy and her seeing Alana as just a passing fellow cadet up until recently, she had passively noticed that Alana was at most just acquaintances with other girls at the academy. But she had always just chalked it up to Alana being a bit of a tomboy at times, and her just in general feeling more comfortable with male friends.

"I never knew that." Elle murmured a few moments later. "The part about them just using you to get to your family and Derek..." She sighed. "But, I can relate, a little. Back when Willa, Oliver and I were younger and we were all at the orphanage….some of the older girls would try and buddy up and try and be 'big sisters' to Willa and I just to get Ollie's attention. When he was around, they'd be all over us and act like they wanted to take us under their wing. But when he wasn't there, they'd act like we were just these annoying kids bugging them. I didn't let it get to me after a while, ignored the girls when they tried to play nice…..but Willie, she was the optimist, thinking that oh, maybe this one's genuine, maybe she really wants to be my friend."

"Sounds like we have a lot more in common than we thought." Alana smiled, a twinge of sadness in her voice.

"I guess we do," Elle nodded. She regretted that after all the years she and Alana had been in the academy together, it took becoming rangers and her current crisis, for the two of them to finally connect. Elle sighed, as she was brought back to the matter at hand. "Since…forever, really, Willa and I have been each other's best friends…..at times, each other's only friend…I…I just don't know if I can hurt her like this," she commented sadly.

"But what about what you want?" The older girl questioned. "I understand that you don't want to hurt Willa… But what about your own happiness?" Elle bit her lip as she considered what Alana was saying.

"I hadn't thought about what I want," she admitted. She sighed and shook her head. "But, even if I put aside Willa's feelings, I don't know if I could do that to the team."

"What are you talking about?" Alana asked, puzzled.

"Well, it…it'd make things weird," Elle replied. "Not just with Willa, but with Oliver."

"What does Oliver have to do with this?" Alana asked. "What…don't tell me, he likes this guy too?" She joked.

"Well… Not in the way you're thinking at least." Elle replied, biting her lip with a smile.

"Okay….you've lost me," Alana said. "Who is this guy?"

"Um…" Elle blushed, mumbling something softly under her breath.

"I'm sorry, come again?" Alana asked, leaning closer to hear her.

"I said it's Jordan." Elle replied with a sigh. Alana stared at Elle, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. "What?" Elle questioned at her friends expression.

"Jordan Mitchellson?" Alana choked out.

"Yes..." Elle slowly replied, confused by Alana's reaction.

"Wow… Um… I don't know what to say." The blond ranger replied scratching the back of her neck.

"What?" Elle questioned. "Just spit it out for the love of god." She sighed. Alana glanced down and sighed.

"Jordan and I used to be a thing way back in the day…" She shrugged. "Not that has any bering on anything though." Elle blinked, shocked by Alana's admission.

"What?" She choked out.

"It's not important." Alana replied with a wave of her hand. "I can see why he likes you though."

"What do you mean?" Elle asked.

"You're pretty, extremely intelligent and have a great personality." Alana replied. "Plus, you can hold your own in arguments and fights… Which he likes." Elle's cheeks turned bright red at that. "Look, Jordy's a great guy and he'd treat you like a Queen… But I can see your hesitation about hurting your sister… It's tough."

"…What happened, between you and Jordan….if you don't mind me asking?" Elle curiously asked. "I mean, why did you guys end things?"

"Jordy and I drifted apart… We never really were an item… More so we were fun buddies… Actually it was right around the time that you enrolled here and I met Derek. We both realized that we wanted something more than what we could give each other." Alana shrugged.

"Really?" Elle questioned. "Sorry, it just seems like now that you mention it, you and Jordan would have made a great couple."

"Really?" Alana asked, making a skeptical face. "I don't think so."

"You're both extremely attractive, have similar interests and are goal oriented." Elle replied with a shrug.

"Yeah, but having similarities like that doesn't necessarily mean guaranteed love match," Alana pointed out.

"I guess you're right." Elle replied with a shrug.

"That being said of course," Alana replied, biting her lip. "Should you decide to proceed with things with Jordy, and it progresses far enough, he's amazing in bed."

"Oh…" Elle said, her face turning beet red with an intense blush as she looked away bashfully. "Uh….good to know…"

"Anyway, I think that you should sit down with him and figure things out." She stated.

"I wouldn't know what to say," Elle murmured.

"What do you mean?" The older ranger asked as she rested her hand on Elle's arm. "Just talk to him."

"And what do I tell Willa? Gosh, sorry for stealing your crush away, but you know how it is?" Elle sighed.

"Obviously you can't say that." Alana replied, rolling her eyes. "No, you need to talk to Jordan first and explain everything to him and see if there's even potential for it to go somewhere… If there is, then maybe you tell Willa, or keep it a secret, I don't know!" She sighed, flopping backwards.

"I guess I need to talk to Jordan." Elle sighed, dropping her head.

"Sounds like it," Alana agreed.

"Thanks Alana." She commented quietly after a beat. "I'll let you know how it goes." Alana smiled and sat up.

"Great," she replied. Giving her friend a smile, Elle stood and exited the room, and the apartment, heading back towards Jordan and Derek's suite. Once she reached the door, she simply stood there, staring at it for a long moment before finally gathering up her courage. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The door hissed open a few moments later, revealing Derek standing there in a pair of jeans and his button up shirt open.

"Uh, hey Elle." He commented. "What's up?"

"Hey Derek," Elle said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Um…is Jordan around?" She asked.

"Yeah, come on in… I think he went back to bed but go on in and wake him up." Derek replied with a shrug.

"Oh, okay, thanks," Elle replied as she walked into the suite.

"Anytime." He replied heading back into the kitchen. Elle stopped short of Jordan's door and sighed before she opened the door and moved into the darkened room.

"Derek, I'm not hungry, nor am I even suicidal enough to try whatever you concoct in the kitchen. Leave me alone," came a groaning voice from where Elle could only imagine the bed was as the door closed behind her.

"Well, that's good to know, but I'm not Derek." Elle replied, biting back a giggle.

"Wha…" She heard Jordan mumble in confusion before a shuffling was heard from the bed as he reached over and clicked on his bedside lamp. "Elle," he breathed, surprised.

"Hey." She replied lamely as he sat up in bed, the glow from his lamp casting over his naked, well-defined chest.

"Hey," he replied. "What are you doing here?" He gently asked.

"I came to talk… But I can come back if this is a bad time." Elle babbled, taking a step backwards towards the door.

"No!" Jordan quickly replied, making her stop in her tracks. "I….I mean, um…no, it's fine, we can talk," he added, clearing his throat.

"Okay." Came her soft reply.

"Uh….do you want to sit?" Jordan lamely asked, shifting on the bed to make room for her to sit beside him if she chose to.

"Sure… Thanks." She mumbled, moving forward to sit on the bed carefully. Jordan quietly watched her as she moved across the room and sat on the side of his bed.

"What's up?" He questioned once she had situated herself comfortably on his bed.

"We need to talk," Elle said.

"I kind of figured that's why you're here." Jordan replied with a grin.

"Right, yeah," Elle murmured with a slight blush. "Um…it's…about what happened before," she stated. Shuffling slightly, he sat up and leaned against his headboard.

"Okay…" he trailed off, a bad feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. Elle stared down at her lap for a moment as she tried to figure out what to say next.

"Um….your feelings….for me…how long have you been keeping them to yourself?" She asked, stalling somewhat as she tried to find the right words to articulate how she felt about him.

"Uh… A long time." He replied softly. She turned to face him and he held his hand up.

"In order to make me seem less creepy, let's just leave it at that." He stated. Elle frowned, confused by his statement.

"What do you mean?" She asked. With a sigh, Jordan dropped his head backwards with a thud against the headboard.

"I've liked you since you joined the academy." He murmured. Elle stared at him.

"All this time?" She asked her voice barely above a whisper.

"Uh, yeah…" Jordan murmured softly. Elle stared at him, unable to say a word for several long moments. Jordan peered at her closely and was about to say something when Elle shocked him by smacking his shoulder, hard.

"You idiot!" She hissed.

"Hey!" Jordan exclaimed, rubbing the spot she had hit him. "What the…that hurt!"

"Good," Elle said, glaring at him. "Why the hell didn't you say something, or do something, my first year here?" She demanded.

"Why does that matter?" Jordan asked, mildly exasperated.

"Because!" Elle replied.

"Because what?" Jordan asked.

"Because then we wouldn't be in this predicament, and I wouldn't have to be worrying about my sister's feelings," she quietly snapped. "If you had told me back then, then we might've been together and Willa wouldn't have been able to fall for you, dumbass!"

"I apologize that I didn't look into my crystal ball." He grumbled. "How dare I not anticipate all the way back then, that the sister who I hadn't even met yet, would develop feelings for me so I had better pounce on the sister I have feelings for the first moment I saw her." Jordan rolled his eyes and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry if you feel I've put you in a bad position, I didn't mean it. The last thing I would ever consciously want to do is hurt Willa, or put cause some sort of problem between you and Willa. But I can't pretend I don't feel the way I do."

"Really? Seems pretending is something you're pretty talented at," Elle countered. Jordan sighed again.

"Touché," he relented. "But I know now I can't do that anymore."

"Oh? And why is that exactly." Elle demanded. "It's only taken you how many years to figure out that you could act on your feelings, what was a little longer?" Jordan looked away.

"Look, if you came here just to chew me out for keeping all this a secret, you needn't bother," he commented as he swung his legs around the other side of the bed and stood up. "I know that was stupid. So, if that's all you're here for, you can just go."

"Wait." She sighed as he began to walk towards his closet to put on more than his boxers. Jordan stopped but didn't turn to face her.

"What for?" Jordan asked.

"I didn't come here to chew you out." She replied softly.

"Ah," Jordan replied. "Well, it's nice to hear that you hitting me wasn't a premeditated strike," he sardonically added. Elle sighed and stood up from the bed. She wordlessly crossed the room until she was standing right behind Jordan and gently wrapped her hand around his elbow and tugged. Jordan allowed himself to be turned around to face her. Elle looked up at him and brought her other hand up to his cheek as she raised herself up onto the tips of her toes to close the height gap between them and lightly press her lips against his. Carefully, Jordan wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer as she ended the kiss and went to move away.

"So what does this mean?" He asked carefully after a moment. Elle closed her eyes and put her weight back onto the balls of her feet as she laid her head on his chest.

"I don't know," she murmured with a sigh.

"We could always try… And just not tell anyone." Jordan murmured softly as he rubbed her back. Elle tilted her head up to look at him.

"I have this nagging feeling that that'd come back to bite us in the ass at some point," she murmured. She sighed, "but I guess it'd be the only way to avoid hurting Willa, or Oliver killing you, at least for now."

"So… we're trying this?" Came his hopeful question. Elle bit her lip and nodded. Jordan grinned and squeezed her hip gently as he bent down and pressed his lips to hers. Elle smiled against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. When the kiss ended, she moved her head to the crook of his neck and snuggled up against him with a content sigh. Instinctively, Jordan's arms tightened around, molding her body to his.

"Now, before some gorgeous young thing walked in here, I was having a great nap… Would you care to join me?" He asked softly. Elle giggled and lifted her head to look at him.

"Gorgeous young thing, eh?" She asked.

"Hey, I call 'em like I see 'em," he replied, causing Elle to giggle again.

"You're a special one Jordy." She smiled.

"Well, I'd like to think you of all people would think I was special," he grinned, giving her a light kiss on the lips.

"Short bus special, maybe." Came her cheeky response as she giggled.

"Hey," Jordan pouted, "you know, if you're going to be mean, maybe I'll take back my nap invitation."

"No you won't." Elle replied with a smile.

"You'd like to think so," Jordan chuckled.

"Okay, well since I'm gonna go over there and have a nap, the only way that you could take it back is if you left… Your choice." Elle grinned as she untangled herself from Jordan's embrace and backed up slowly towards his bed. Jordan was somewhat transfixed as he watched her pull the covers aside and climb into his bed. This was a mental image he had seen quite a few times in the dreams and fantasies he had had about Elle over the years, it was quite enthralling to see it happening in real life.

"You gonna be comfortable in your jeans and that hoodie?" He questioned, trying to keep his voice even. Elle looked at him, her right eyebrow quirked ever so slightly.

"Wow Jordy, that's just a little too obvious," she lightly teased. He felt a blush creep across his face.

"I didn't mean take your clothes off." He mumbled. "I meant that if you're not going to be comfortable sleeping in what you've got on… You could borrow some of my stuff..." Elle continued to look at him with her eyebrow raised. "I'd leave to let you change, of course," he added.

"Um…" She paused for a moment before nodding slowly. "That'd be appreciated."

"Okay," Jordan nodded. "Uh….help yourself to whatever you want," he commented, sweeping his arm towards his closet and dresser. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He turned and exited the room to give her privacy. Once he was gone, Elle climbed out of his bed and moved over to his closet. She shuffled around for a moment, pushing things aside until she settled on a light blue button down. She set the shirt down on top of his dresser before beginning to undress. Once she had pulled the shirt on and had the appropriate amount of buttons secured in place, she began searching for something to wear as a bottom. After some searching, she finally settled on a pair of blue cotton drawstring pajama pants. Just as she had settled back down on the bed, the door opened and Jordan moved back into the room. "Hey," he softly said as he let the door close behind him.

"Hi." She murmured softly as he moved towards the bed. He pulled back the covers at the empty side of the bed and climbed in next to her. Elle felt her heart rate speed up as she felt his leg brush against hers while he was settling into the bed. He gave her a lazy smile as he leaned back into the pillows, tucking one arm behind his head. Elle smiled back at him and turned onto her side as she shifted closer to him.

"Comfy?" Jordan asked a few moments later after she had finished shuffling around and had placed her head in the crook of his neck, her forehead resting against his cheek, and her arm draped over his stomach.

"Hmm, very," Elle contently sighed beside him.

"Good." He murmured softly as he dropped a kiss to the crown of her head. Elle smiled and snuggled closer to him, her fingers lightly caressing his stomach.

"Go to sleep." Jordan encouraged, his tone warm. "I'll be here when you wake up."

"I'd imagine you would be, since this is your room," she giggled, brushing her lips against his cheek.

"Dork." Jordan teased as he tickled her side gently. Elle giggled and squirmed slightly next to him.

"Stop that." She scolded, grabbing his hand.

"Stop what?" He grinned as he tickled her with his other hand.

"Jordy!" She squealed as she tried to squirm away from him. Jordan laughed and kissed the side of her neck.

"Something wrong?" He innocently asked as he pulled back on the tickling.

"I'm ticklish." Elle giggled as he continued to kiss her neck.

"You are?" Jordan asked in a mock surprised tone.

"Yes." She replied glancing up at him. "Don't make me fight back." She mock threatened.

"And how would you fight back?" He asked against her neck before lightly kissing her pulse point.

"Well if I told you, I'd have to kill you." Came her response around a giggle.

"Well, that wouldn't be good," Jordan chuckled against her skin.

"No, it wouldn't." She agreed. "So glad we can both agree." Jordan laughed and tightened his arms around her as he continued to kiss and lightly nibble on her neck. Elle sighed softly as he carefully rolled on top of her, and she arched her neck slightly to give him better access to soft flesh. Jordan trailed kisses up and down her neck before moving to the side of her jaw. He slowly kissed along the underside of her jaw for a few moments, as his hands skirted up and down her sides ever so gently. "I thought we were going to take a nap," Elle quietly moaned as her hands moved up to his shoulders.

"This is much more intriguing and fun though." Jordan murmured against her skin before bringing his lips to hers.

"Mm, true," Elle murmured against his lips as she buried her hands in his hair. He deepened the kiss as one of his hands moved across her ribcage, his fingers accidentally dragging across the underside of her breast. Elle's eyes flew open in surprise.

"Jordy…" Came her breathy comment as she pulled away from the kiss. Jordan's hand stilled as he glanced at her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that," he murmured, afraid he had offended her. He moved his hand down her ribcage until it was on the much safer spot of her stomach. Elle dropped one of her hands from his shoulder and reached down to grab his hand and placed back where it had been.

"I never said you had to move it." She blushed.

"Oh," Jordan breathed out, blushing as well. "Um… Maybe we should have that nap." He blurted out a moment later. Elle blinked, surprised, before frowning.

"Oh….I…..um….okay, if that's what you want," she murmured.

"I just don't want to force you to do go any farther if you're not comfortable." He explained softly. Elle stared up at him for a moment before smiling, somewhat relieved that was his reasoning, and not something like she had somehow suddenly become repellent. She leaned her head up and lightly kissed the side of his mouth, before giving the hand she had moved up a mild squeeze.

"I don't think you're forcing anything," she lightly commented, pointing out she was the one keeping his hand in place.

"If you're sure." Jordan commented softly.

"I am," Elle replied. Ever so carefully, Jordan's hand crept upwards until it rested gently on the top of her breast.

"Just tell me when you're not comfortable anymore." He murmured softly, squeezing both her hip and breast gently. Elle moaned softly, her hip reflexively rolling against his. Jordan bit back a groan as her hips rolled against his.

"You really shouldn't do that," Jordan huskily murmured as he felt his body begin to react to her hips' movement.

"Oh?" She questioned, turning her head to glance at him. "And what will you do if I keep doing it?" As if on cue, Elle rolled her hips again. In response, Jordan let out a low moan as he felt himself begin to harden.

"You sure you wanna find out?" He commented, glancing at her with lust filled eyes. Elle stared up at him, a slight shiver running down her spine from the look in his eyes.

"Yes," she breathed out, her hips rolling against his once again.

"Alright… You say stop, and I'll stop." He murmured before pushing up slightly and quickly unbuttoning the button down. Elle bit her lip, her cheeks blushing furiously as Jordan undid the last button and gently pushed the shirt open. He glanced down at her exposed skin, drinking in the sight of her. Ever so slowly, he ran his fingers along her stomach and across her ribs, before sneaking under the material of her bra.

"I think, this needs to go." Jordan commented huskily.

"I think you're right," Elle replied in a similar tone.

"Sit up." Jordan commented. Elle complied, his button down slipping off her shoulders and down her arms as she did. Jordan's hands glided up her bare arms before he reached behind her back. He rested his forehead against hers, his nose gently bumping into Elle's as he unhooked the clasp at the back of her bra and pulled the garment away.

"You're so beautiful." He murmured softly as he dropped her bra to the floor. Elle's heart rate sped up as she felt Jordan's hands on her naked back once he had removed her bra.

"You okay?" Jordan asked as he kissed her tenderly.

"Uh huh," Elle murmured. Her hands moved to his sides before slipping down to the waistband of his boxers, a cheeky smile forming on her lips. "But I think you need to lose something," she commented.

"We're getting there." Jordan grinned devilishly as he glanced downwards and caught the first sight of her naked breasts.

"Good," Elle giggled, her fingers dipped into his waistband to lightly graze his hipbone.

"Where do you think you're going with that hand?" He teased gently as he moved his hands to cup her breasts. Elle moaned and bit her lip as she felt his hand on her naked breast.

"Nowhere," she innocently replied as her hand moved further down his boxers.

"I doubt that." Came the response as he pinched one of her nipple gently. Elle gasped, her back arching slightly. Jordan grinned as his hands moved down her stomach towards the drawstring pants. "Lie back," he softly murmured. Elle instantly obliged to his request and leaned back to let him gently tug the pants down. He carefully peeled away the thin pants away from her body, and tossed them to the floor to join her bra. Jordan sat back a moment to take in the sight before him. There was Elle, the woman he had wanted for years, lying in his bed in nothing but a pair of panties. It took every ounce of will power Jordan could find inside of him to not just pounce right then and there.

"Something wrong?" Elle asked softly, stirring him from his thoughts as her hand reached out to touch his arm. Jordan smiled and her and leaned forward to place a tender kiss on her lips.

"Not at all," he replied.

"Good." She smiled softly against his lips.

"By the way," he commented, his arms moving to her sides and gently caressing her naked skin, "I think you were right."

"About what?" Elle asked. Jordan smiled and gave her another kiss.

"I should've told you how I felt ages ago," he commented, "I think I'm the worlds biggest idiot for waiting all these years to be with you like this," he tenderly spoke. Elle felt her face go warm, and her heart flutter at his tender comment.

"I don't think you're the world's biggest idiot." She replied, biting her lip.

"Well, that's good," Jordan smiled, giving her another kiss. "I'd hate to think my girlfriend thinks I'm an idiot," he joked. Elle giggled.

"I didn't say I don't think you're an idiot," she teased, "just not the world's biggest idiot." She paused a moment as what he had said truly sunk in. "Girlfriend?" She breathed out.

"Well, that's normally what a couple refers to their partner as." Jordan teased. "Unless of course you don't want me to call you that." He commented after a moment, seeing her shocked reaction. Elle looked at him, her expression quickly softening when she realized he had misinterpreted her reaction.

"No, it's not that," she replied, her hand moving up to touch his cheek. "I just…didn't expect that so early," she admitted.

"You're in my bed, almost completely naked, and you…what, thought I was thinking we're just casual right now?" He asked. Elle sighed and dropped her head into his pillow.

"I don't know, maybe?" She replied. "I know people who've done more for less." Jordan sighed and rested his forehead against hers.

"Well, I'm not like that," he stated. Elle blinked and pursed her lips as her conversation with Alana popped into her mind.

"I'm assuming you mean you're not like that now, since you used to be," she murmured, looking away.

"Huh?" Jordan questioned. "What are you talking about?" Elle snapped her gaze back at him, appalled he was acting like he had no idea what she was referring to.

"Alana," she replied.

"Oh… That…" He replied, sounding defeated. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you know about it..."

"She told me," Elle stated.

"She did?" Slowly, Jordan pushed himself backwards and sighed. Elle swallowed thickly, a feeling of dread settling in her stomach as she felt him move away.

"Yeah," she quietly replied.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He offered lamely. Elle felt tears pricking her eyes as she began to wonder if she had caused the end of things with Jordan before they had truly begun. She slowly sat up.

"Is there anything to say about it?" She asked, leaning over to reach for the button down shirt.

"What are you doing?" He asked softly as she pulled it on. "Elle… What happened between Ally and I was a long time ago… I've grown up a lot since then." She shook her head.

"It's nothing." She managed to state as a tear rolled down her cheek as she began to climb out of the bed. Jordan reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Don't go, please," he pleaded. She turned slightly and Jordan caught a glimpse of the tears in her eyes.

"Oh Elle…" He murmured softly as he reached out and brushed away the tear rolling down her cheek. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm fine," she lied.

"No you're not." He murmured softly, shifting closer to her. "Elle… I want _you_ to be my girlfriend. You're amazing, intelligent, beautiful and that only scratches the surface of how much I like you." Elle bit her lip as another tear slipped down. Jordan sighed and leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Please, Elle," he murmured, "you know me well enough to know I'd never lie to you."

"I'm sorry." She mumbled as another tear dropped onto the bed. Jordan took a deep breath as he wiped his thumb against her cheek.

"Are you saying sorry as in…..you changed your mind and don't want this to happen?" He carefully asked, almost afraid of what her answer might be.

"No." Came her firm reply almost instantly. Jordan let out a relieved sigh and smiled.

"Thank god," he breathed as he drew her closer and pressed his lips to hers. Elle's lips pulled into a smile as he kissed her, and once he pulled away, she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for being a mess." She offered.

"You, a mess? Not possible," Jordan tenderly replied as he held her close.

"Thanks Jordy." Elle whispered softly. Jordan smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Maybe we should have that nap." He offered softly. Elle stared at him a moment and shook her head, a grin forming on her lips.

"I do believe we had been in the middle of something, though," she commented, moving her arms around his neck.

"Glad to see none of this affected your libido." Jordan chuckled as she climbed into his lap and kissed him. Elle simply giggled and kissed him deeply. His hands moved down her body, one slipping between her legs while the other palmed her breast. Elle bit her lip and moaned, her head falling back. Grinning, Jordan nipped at her collar bone as his fingers scrapped lightly against the cotton fabric of her last article of clothing.

"Oh god," Elle moaned, arching closer to him. Ever so slowly, his fingers pulled the fabric aside and Jordan slipped one finger inside Elle. Elle gasped as she felt his finger slide into her.

"Jordy…" She whimpered as he carefully added a second finger.

"Yes?" Jordan grinned, moving in to lightly kiss the side of her neck.

"Stop teasing." She murmured as her head lolled onto his shoulder.

"Who says I'm teasing?" He asked as his thumb lightly brushed against her bundle of nerves. Elle's mouth fell open as a low moan escaped her throat. Jordan grinned and rubbed his thumb over the sensitive bud a few more times as he trailed kisses down her neck and to her collarbone. Shifting slightly, she pressed against his hand and rolled her hips again.

"Oh god," she moaned, arching her back.

"Nope, just me." Jordan commented cheekily as he pulled his fingers out of her.

"Why'd you stop?" Elle murmured as she pulled her head off his shoulder to look at him, her eyes dark with lust.

"Well… I thought maybe we could move onto something else… With a little more motion involved." He commented with a sly grin.

"Oh," she breathed. Jordan's grin widened as he moved his hands to her hips and quickly laid her on the bed on her back before moving on top of her. Slowly, he leaned down and kissed her before moving to push his boxers down. Elle buried her hands in his hair as she kissed him back, brimming with anticipation. Pulling away slightly, Jordan leaned back and pushed his boxers down over his knees before tossing them to the floor and glanced down at Elle's panties. Elle bit her lip as she watched Jordan slowly run his hands up her legs until he reached the waistband of her underwear.

"Lift your hips." He requested softly. Elle instantly complied and shifted her weight on the bed so she could raise her hips a couple of inches off the mattress. Slowly, Jordan slipped his fingers under the waistband of her last remaining article of clothing and gently pulled it down. Once he had lowered it past her knees, he tenderly picked up her right ankle to get the undergarment past her foot and set it down before repeating the same action with her left ankle. Elle bit her lip gently, a smile dancing her eyes as he tossed her panties on the floor with the rest of their discarded clothing. Jordan leaned down and kissed her deeply as he brushed a piece of hair off her shoulder. "Ready?" Came his tender question.

"Yeah," Elle softly replied, her arms moving to wrap around his shoulders. Slowly, he moved between her legs, nudging her knees apart. Elle spread her legs under him, her heart going off like a jackhammer in her chest. It took Jordan a moment to position himself in front of her entrance. Ever so slowly, he pushed inside her. Elle moaned softly, her back arching ever so slightly as she felt Jordan slip inside of her. Jordan groaned and held her close as he waited a moment to let her walls comfortably embrace him, and internally revel in finally being with her after pining after her for so long. After a moment, he glanced up at her and grinned before slowly beginning to move against her. Elle moaned again and wrapped her legs around his hips.

"Oh god," Elle sighed, lying her head back on Jordan's pillow.

"Close… But not quite." He chuckled in response. Elle rolled her eyes and lightly hit his shoulder.

"Way to ruin a moment," she joked.

"You don't seem to be complaining too much about it." Jordan grinned as he kissed her softly. Elle sighed and chuckled softly.

"I'm pretty sure I just did complain," she teased.

"I heard nothing." He grinned cheekily as he rolled his hips. Whatever sarcastic remark Elle might've had to reply with, died on her lips as his movement lead to him hitting the sensitive spot inside of her and she gasped.

"Holy shit." She moaned as her head dropped back into the pillow. Jordan grinned and rolled his hips again.

"Jordy." Elle breathed as he pushed against the same spot.

"Yes?" He huskily murmured as he leaned down to lightly brush his lips against her neck. Elle moaned, her hips rolling up against his. It took the couple a while to figure out their rhythm, but they soon began to work in tandem with each other, their moans and cries of passion filling the small space. Jordan lowered his head, his lips trailing down from her neck to her collarbone before lightly nipping at her flesh. Elle moved her hands from his shoulders, and slipped into his hair, gently tugging at it. Jordan moaned against her chest, the speed of his thrusts increasing. His hands moved down to her backside, holding her hips closer to his as their bodies slammed together.

"Oh my god," Elle cried out, burying her head in the crook of his neck. Jordan increased the speed of his thrusting as he grunted into her neck. "Jordy," she loudly moaned as her legs tightened around him.

"You're so beautiful." Jordan murmured against her sweaty skin as he continued to increase the pace of his thrusting. Elle arched her back, her toes curling as Jordan's thrusting drove her closer to climax. It didn't take much longer for Jordan to push her towards the edge.

"Jordy!" She cried out as she climaxed. Jordan grunted against her skin as her walls clenching around him drove him to the edge right behind her.

"Oh god." He moaned as his release occurred. Once the two had ridden out their respective orgasms, Jordan careful rolled to his side and slumped beside Elle on the bed like a puppet whose strings had just been cut. "Oh god," he repeated, panting lightly as he caught his breath.

"Agreed." Elle moaned softly as she closed her eyes. Jordan gave her a sleepy smile and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her body closer to his.

"I think its naptime." She sighed happily as she snuggled closer to him, her arm slipping up to his shoulder.

"I think you might be right," he chuckled, lightly kissing the top of her head. Elle grinned and laid her head on his chest, letting the rise and fall of it as Jordan breathed lull her to sleep. Jordan smiled as he heard her breathing even out and she slipped into a deep sleep. He tightened his hold on her and placed a kiss on her forehead before letting his eyes drift shut and joining her in slumber.

(((((((((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))))

The rest of the weekend went on without need to disrupt the rangers' relaxation and settling into their new accommodations—and relationships, in terms of Elle and Jordan. Monday morning, Oliver was ready to jump into his role as leader.

"I just want you to know," Alana grumbled as the rangers dragged themselves into the training room in their wing of the academy, "I plan on killing your brother," she commented to Elle and Willa.

"It's 5am, and we're awake, trust me….we'll be helping you with that," Willa replied.

"Is it naptime yet?" Elle mumbled around a loud yawn. "I'm not on patrol until tonight."

"Quit complaining," Oliver sighed as he moved into the room and turned to face his teammates. "Our enemies aren't going to care if you're in need of a nap when they attack," he commented, his tone saturated with authority.

"I think I can say, without a doubt that they won't be attacking at 5am though." Jordan commented.

"You never know, they might deliberately choose to attack when they feel we'd be the most vulnerable," Derek pointed out with a shrug.

"Shut up." Alana commented with a glare. Oliver sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Are you guys done complaining?" He asked. "Because I'd think you'd want to get through training as fast as possible. The sooner we're done with today's training, the sooner you all can nap."

"Sounds good to me." Elle sighed as she stretched.

"Good," Oliver nodded, "once you guys have all stretched, we'll warm up with a jog around the grounds."

"...The whole academy?" Adrian asked. "Dude that's like five miles."

"Shut up before he decides to make it multiple laps around the academy," Willa warned as she stretched.

"I won't make you do multiples… But the person who can give me two laps around the grounds the fastest gets to go back to bed first." Oliver offered. "Think of it as incentive."

"Good to know," Jordan commented as he leaned forward to stretch his hamstrings.

"Don't even think about it." Alana warned with a grin as she bent to touch her toes. "It's mine… I had night patrol last night."

"Alright, if you guys are done challenging each other, let's go," Oliver commanded.

"Last one finished buys drinks at the bar on Saturday night." Alana grinned as she took off.

"You're on," Adrian chuckled as he and the others followed.

By the time the 'finish line' was in sight, Alana had a clear lead over Jordan by nearly 200 feet. She let out a loud whoop as she finished and dropped down onto the ground, breathing heavily just as Jordan slowed to meet her. "Sucks to be you Jordy! I'm going back to bed as soon as I can feel my legs again." Alana laughed.

"Well, we still have a little more training to get through," Oliver commented with a chuckle from his spot by the finish line, having had finished twenty minutes before Alana and Jordan. "But you get to head out after the sparring, everyone else is scheduled for some time in the weight room," he added.

"Ugh, sadist," Jordan chuckled as he flopped down on the ground to catch his breath.

"Guess you shouldn't have given it all away up front." Alana teased as she moved to stretch her legs out.

"Guess I should've known better than go up against someone who clearly wanted the win more," Jordan laughed.

"Yup," Alana giggled as she pointed her toes to stretch her whole leg. Oliver laughed and looked along the track to see how far the others were. He could see Derek in the lead half a mile away, with Elle not too far from him.

"Get the lead out!" Oliver shouted out to those still jogging. It didn't take long for Derek and Elle to finish their run.

"Who won?" Elle asked, panting slightly as she worked to catch her breath.

"Me," Alana said a Cheshire grin on her face.

"Figures." Derek grumbled good naturedly. Alana merely laughed as Derek moved over to plop down on the ground beside her. "You wouldn't want to pass the rewards along to someone else would you?" he teased.

"Hmm," Alana replied, pursing her lips as she seemed to think about that. "Nope," she giggled.

"Unfair!" Came the response as he laughed.

"Oh well," Alana shrugged with another giggle. Oliver rolled his eyes and looked out towards the jogging trail to try and see the remaining team members.

"Did you see Willie out there?" He quietly asked Elle, his concerned older brother side overwhelming his team leader side.

"She was keeping up with me until the halfway point of the second lap." Elle replied as she rolled her neck. "I think she was starting to tire out." Oliver sighed and shook his head.

"Great," he muttered. Elle shrugged.

"Go easy on her," she commented.

"Easy for you to say." Came his response.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked.

"You're not in charge of the team." Oliver replied with a shrug. Elle rolled her eyes.

"Please don't tell me this whole red ranger thing isn't going to give you a big head all of the time," she muttered.

"It's not that." Her older brother stated. "All it means is that I need to be responsible for this team, and ensuring that everyone is safe, and whatnot."

"You make it sound like we're all a bunch of know nothing five year olds and you're our dutiful babysitter," Elle pointed out.

"Again, I say it's not that." Came the reply, Oliver paused trying not to loose his temper with his younger sister. "Think of me as 'big brother', I just keep a watchful eye on everyone and everything."

"And, out of curiosity…..will this universal 'big brother' be in addition to the big brother intrusive…..Sorry, I mean watchful….eye you've had on Willie and me since forever?" She questioned.

"So how about them Ravens." Jordan commented loudly enough to draw attention away from the brewing sibling fight. Elle and Oliver glanced over at Jordan.

"What?" Elle asked.

"If you watch closely, Jordy is attempting what most would identify as, a distraction… And failing horribly." Alana stated in a mock whisper. Derek chuckled beside Alana while Jordan rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for that, Alana," Jordan sighed.

"Anytime." She giggled. Elle rolled her eyes and moved away from Oliver to sit under the shade of a nearby tree.

Out on the track, Willa was panting heavily as she fought to get through her second to last lap. The first lap had gone extremely well for her, but just shy of halfway through the second go around, she began to lose her steam.

"Pick up the pace, Wiley," she heard Adrian tease behind her as he started his final lap.

"Screw off." She hissed out between pants, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

"Aw, be nice, Wiles," Adrian joked as he managed to close the distance between them. Biting her tongue, Willa continued at her labored pace, ignoring Adrian. "Hey, how about upping the wager going on here?" Adrian grinned. "Last one at the finish line has to buy drinks _and_ dinner for the whole team, sound good?"

"Adrian," She huffed. "Please do me a favor and just go away, alright? I'm really not interested in anything you have to say." Adrian frowned, not liking being brushed off by Willa.

"Just trying to make this little race more interesting," he muttered, dejectedly, subtly pulling back to let Willa jog ahead of him. Willa ignored him and continued powering forward. Sighing, ever so slightly over the course of the next half of the run, Adrian dropped back even further, giving Willa more of a lead over him. Adrian had managed to give her enough of a lead that she was on her last lap when he was still a quarter mile away from the finish line.

"Congrats!" Elle beamed as her little sister finally crossed the finish line, huffing and puffing loudly. Willa resisted the urge to collapse on the ground right then and there and simply hunched forward, bracing herself against her knees as she caught her breath.

"Tired?" Oliver questioned as he stepped towards her.

"Just a little," Willa commented, coughing between sucking in a lungful of air.

"Here, have some water." Alana stated as she stood up and moved towards the younger girl.

"Thanks," Willa replied as she stood up straight and drank some water just as Adrian reached the finish line.

"Looks like you're buying drinks." Derek laughed as Adrian came to a stop beside Willa.

"Yeah, looks like it," Adrian sighed, feigning grave disappointments.

"I believe he's buying drinks _and_dinner," Willa commented after swallowing a big gulp of water. She looked over at Adrian and smirked. "That is what you said, right?" Slowly, Adrian opened his mouth, then promptly closed it before nodding.

"That I did." He agreed after a brief pause.

"Oh really?" Alana asked, grinning.

"Huh, suddenly I have a craving for a huge steak," Derek chuckled.

"Figures." Adrian chuckled.

"Alright guys, rest for a bit, then we're going to the weight room," Oliver instructed before turning to Alana, "except for you, since you won, you get a reprieve," he added.

"Back to bed for me!" She laughed happily. The others groaned. "Have fun." Alana giggled as she stood and moved away from the group.

"I hate her," Willa grumbled as she took another sip of water.

"No you don't." Elle laughed. "She won, fair and square."

"Exactly why I hate her," Willa said, "she gets to go back to bed while we have to keep on killing ourselves," she paused a moment, "actually, no, I don't hate her, I hate our dear brother."

"I heard that," Oliver gruffly commented.

"Excellent." She stated. Oliver rolled his eyes.

"I'll be in the weight room, bring your butts in their as soon as you all catch your breath," he authoritatively stated before walking off.

"Yes mom." Jordan chuckled under his breath. It didn't take long for the group to collect themselves and continue on with their day. The five rangers filed into the modest sized weight room in the officer wing of the academy to see Oliver waiting for them at one of the bench press machines.

"It's about time," he commented.

"Whatever Ollie, you said to join you when we were ready." Elle commented, rolling her eyes.

"I didn't realize it'd take you this long to be ready," Oliver replied.

"Get over it." Willa stated grumpily. Oliver sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I want you guys to work in here for at least an hour," Oliver stated, "work on whichever areas you think you need to."

"What no further direction?" Elle grumbled under her breath as she moved towards the free weights. Oliver rolled his eyes again.

"Well, I was going to go easy on you guys for the last half of today's training, but if you want, I can dictate something more strenuous," he replied. His younger sister fixed him with a glare as she picked a weight up.

"Its fine," Willa interjected as she moved over to the row of treadmills. The group lapsed into silence shortly afterwards, working out for the majority of the hour without words being exchanged. As the hour was coming to a close, Willa slowed down the pace of her treadmill as she cooled down, before stepping off to get some water. She was steps from the water cooler when she bumped into Jordan, who had come over from the leg weights at the other side of the room for the very same reason.

"Oh…sorry," Jordan apologized.

"…its fine," Willa quietly mumbled, her voice tight as she looked away. Jordan frowned as she looked away from him.

"Hey Wills… How about a movie night later?" He questioned softly. "Just us, sound like fun?" Willa bit her lip and forced her heart not to skip a beat at his invitation. A week ago, she might've jumped at the chance to be alone with him, but after the other night, it only made her want to cry.

"Why?" She bluntly asked.

"I feel really bad for what happened the other night." He admitted carefully. "And I don't want that to ruin our friendship." Willa snorted quietly and moved around him to get some water.

"As much fun as hanging out, because you feel bad, sounds….I think I'll pass," she muttered.

"Wills…" he murmured.

"I'm busy tonight anyway," she lied as she took a sip of water.

"Oh, alright." Jordan conceded after a brief pause. "Another time, maybe?" He offered.

"Oh yeah, let me check my schedule and get back to you," Willa icily replied before moving away from him. He frowned deeply as she walked away from him.

"Maybe you should just leave her alone," someone commented behind him with a low stern voice. For a moment Jordan worried it was Oliver who had somehow found out about everything and was ready to lay down the law regarding his sisters. Jordan was surprised to see it was in fact Adrian, not Oliver, standing behind him and glaring daggers in his direction.

"I'm sorry?" Jordan questioned.

"You heard me," Adrian replied, crossing his arms over his chest as his glare intensified. "You hurt her once already, I think you should just back off and leave her be," Adrian lowly added. "Otherwise, someone may have to _hurt_ you," he quietly threatened. Slowly, Jordan's eyes narrowed, fixing Adrian with a glare.

"You don't know what you're talking about." He warned.

"I don't?" Adrian challenged. "Because I'm pretty sure I saw you shooting her down and breaking her heart after she confessed how she felt about you," he lowly commented, doing his best to hide his contempt and envy towards the other ranger for being the receiving end of Willa's affection.

"I didn't realize that turning someone down, because you don't return their feeling, was wrong." Jordan replied snarkily. Adrian's eyes narrowed.

"If you're dumb enough not to realize how…" He paused mid quiet rant and shook his head. "Just leave her alone, alright?" He demanded.

"Fine." Came the terse comment as Jordan stepped away.

"Good," Adrian replied as he moved away as well. After that, the rest of the work out went off without incident, with Oliver saying the others could leave if they wanted after the hour was up, while he himself continued exercising. Derek, Elle, Willa and Jordan excused themselves from the weight room once Oliver had given them permission to leave.

"Wow, this place sure cleared out fast," Oliver joked after they had left. He glanced over to see Adrian sitting at one of the weight benches. "I won't be offended if you clear out too, you know," he commented. Adrian shrugged before adjusting the weight level where he sat.

"It couldn't hurt to get a little more training in," he replied.

"And it has nothing to do with our being roommates and you worrying I'd rag on you day in and day out if you didn't, right?" Oliver joked.

Adrian grinned and chuckled slightly. "Maybe." He offered. Oliver laughed as he adjusted the weight on his machine.

"Wise decision," he kidded.

"I have them occasionally." Came the response. The two fell into silence as they continued with their workouts.

"So," Oliver grunted out as he lifted his weights over his head after nearly twenty minutes of silence, "what's the deal with you and my sister?" Adrian nearly dropped his own weights at the question and cleared his throat.

"Uh, what do you mean?" He cautiously asked.

"You're always yanking her chain, what's up with that?" Oliver asked. He kept his tone casual, but Adrian could tell there was an underlying element of Oliver being protective over his little sister. Adrian was quiet for a moment as he thought of what to say.

"It's nothing….just playing around," he replied. Oliver set his weight bar down and looked over at Adrian.

"Just playing around?" He asked.

"Yeah…you know, just good natured ribbing," Adrian quickly replied. Oliver's eyebrows raised as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Uh huh…" He murmured. He was quiet for a moment as the corners of his mouth turned up into a smirk. "You know, when she was in kindergarten, there was a boy in her class that did some good natured ribbing towards Willa, too," he nonchalantly commented.

"Oh?" Adrian replied, not sure what he was getting at. Oliver nodded.

"It was before our parents'…." Oliver paused a moment, still struggling with the loss of his parents after all these years, "had their accident," he added. "Willie would come home, crying because the boy would put sand in her hair, or buried her toy in the dirt. I was all ready to give the kid a beating, or at least an intimidating stare down," he chuckled, "but my mom just smiled and said the boy wasn't being mean to her."

"Oh, what was it then?" Adrian asked, with a gulp, as he had a feeling where this was going.

"The boy liked her," Oliver stated. Adrian let out a noise akin to a strangled cough.

"Oh really?" He managed to comment once he'd regained his composure.

"Uh huh," Oliver said, his smirk getting wider. "Now, you haven't dumped sand on her head, and she doesn't really have toys for you to bury, but I think the same sentiment still applies to your 'good natured ribbing'," he commented. The remaining color in Adrian's face slowly began to drain away as he slowed loudly.

"Uh…" He trailed off.

"'Uh…' what?" Oliver asked.

"Nothing!" Came the all too fast response. Oliver chuckled.

"Nothing my foot," he replied. Adrian fell into silence as he shuffled his feet nervously. After a brief pause Oliver shrugged. "Look, I'm not going to bust your balls over it since she is my sister. But I'd like to see her happy." He offered cryptically. Adrian looked over at him as he took in his words.

"So would I," he quietly admitted. He sighed and looked down. "But I…I don't think I'm the one that would make her happy," he murmured, a tone of defeat clear in his voice. Oliver frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"Just that," Adrian sighed as he got up and wiped his sweat covered face with a towel. "She doesn't have feelings for me."

"And how exactly do you know that?" Came the retort. "Did you develop mind reading abilities as a child?" Adrian sighed as he momentarily thought about telling Oliver everything, even Willa kissing Jordan the other night. After a moment he realized he couldn't do it. As much as he envied Jordan for being the object of Willa's affections, and as much as he hated Jordan for hurting her, in the end he couldn't rat on them like that.

"I just know, okay?" He replied in a tone that said he had no plans to elaborate further.

"Alright." Oliver conceited after a moment, holding his hands up in defeat. He stood up and grabbed his own nearby towel. "Okay, I'm beat," he said, officially done with his own training for the day. He placed his towel around the back of his neck and held it on his shoulders.

"Yeah, same here," Adrian agreed. The two began leaving the room to go back to their shared living quarters when Oliver spoke up.

"Look," he said, "I don't know anything about who my sister may or may not have feelings for," he commented, causing Adrian to suppress a small groan as he realized they hadn't dropped the subject. "But, if you really care about her, and want her to feel the same, I think it couldn't hurt to well….quit being the kid dumping sand on her head in the schoolyard, if you know what I mean."

"Somehow I get the feeling that to her it won't matter." Adrian replied quietly with a shrug.

"Maybe, maybe not," Oliver shrugged, "but it couldn't hurt."

"Yeah, I guess." Came the dismissive reply. Oliver smiled and clapped his younger friend on the shoulder as they continued on their way.

* * *

><p>AN: Hey guys, its "Z" (aka Becky). "Syd" and I have noticed that though there's been quite a few listing this for story alerts or putting it in your favorites, only one of you lovely people is actually reviewing. Which, hey, awesome, we love that, but…..well, what can I say, reviews are nice haha. So, yeah, please if you enjoy this little tale we're weaving please drop us a review, it'll make us feel all warm and fuzzy :D<p> 


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